INFORMATION LITERACY: Evaluating Websites Literacy in the World of the Internet
Student Media Literacy Ability to find information Determine its usefulness and accuracy Utilize it effectively
Ability to find information
Determine its usefulness and accuracy
ď Ż Denise and Karl use distance measurement equipment to check
the accuracy of Rick's work. The tape measure is used to measure the distance along the river bank and to nearby reference points in the Old Growth Forest Test Plot. Data will be used to determine the dynamics of the river as it cuts new channels.
Use information effectively
Authority Is the author well-regarded? Does the site contain a biography or
contact information? Is the site a link from a site you trust? Is there more information about the author available?
Bias Is there clear sponsorship? Is there a link to the sponsor? Is the page an ad disguised as
information?
Citation Allows students to check the information Should be from respected sources Should include books or periodicals
Dates Date of creation Date of last update
is the information is time sensitive?
Efficiency Does the site load quickly
Try at all time of day
Large graphics slow load
Download to place in cache Use WebWhacker or some web browsers to save the site
http://www.bluesquirrel.com/ whacker/
Fallacy Check the author’s purpose for writing
the site Be sure to check information for context
Graphics ď Ż Pictures must serve a purpose ď Ż Topic must be enhanced by the graphic
Remember bandwidth is used quickly by graphics and interest is lost on a slow download
Jerry-Built Poor constructed
Many spelling and grammar errors Exception is foreign based sites
Knowledge Students should have prior knowledge
Allows for evaluation of facts Creates an ability to discriminate
Misinformation There are few filters Watch
Opinion verbs Emotion words
Many sites are jokes or satyr
Crystal Spirit Wolf Runner
Navigability Designed for ease of navigation Links should be grouped Keywords Search function Two click rule
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Starting With The Right Attitude Be suspicious! Ask questions! What is the user searching for? What will the user use the information
for? How much information does the user need?
The Author Is the author identified? What are the indications of the author's
knowledge of the subject? Is the author qualified to publish on this subject? Does the author indicate his/her affilation? Can the reader contact the author directly? If the author is identified as an organization, are there links to its homepage or to pages containing information as to its purpose, philosophy?
Who is this guy???
Accuracy Does the information match or correlate
with what the user already knows. Are there obvious errors of fact? Is there any indication that an outside or independent agency has reviewed or verified the material?
Content Objectivity, is the presentation one sided or is
there is obvious bias. Typos, spelling errors, and bad grammar are all indicators of a lack of editorial review. Coverage may or may not matter depending upon the how narrow or broad the user's needs are. Is the information more readily available in another format? The information may be available on the web but it might be faster and easier to look in an encyclopedia.
Content What is the tone of the presentation?
Does the author feel persecuted? Is s/he angry that no legitimate press or journal would publish the materials. Is the information unique?
is this web page the only place the user is going to find this type of material. it is often a warning sign that no one else would publish it.
The Spotted Hyena (Discussion)
Orientation Is there a link to a home page? How hard is it to locate the information
required? Is there a link to the author's affiliated organization? Is the design usable by all likely users. If the material is part of an online journal, are there links providing information on how articles are selected? If the material is scholarly, can the user access references, table of contents, abstracts, footnotes, etc.?
Currency When was the page posted? When was it updated last? Does it matter when it was last updated? A
collection of 19th century poetry may never be updated and the material is still useful. However, a page offering the latest findings in physics, biology, genetics, etc. may be outdated within days. Are there a lot of dead links? Dead links indicate the author has touched the page recently.
URL Clues .COM sites are usually commercial or business sites.
They want to sell the reader a product or service may be expected to sing its praises without mentioning its faults some .COM sites are the hosts for personal pages www.geocities.yahoo.com www.fortunecity.com.
.ORG sites usually exist to persuade the reader to a point
of view.
Their accuracy lies in the eyes of the beholder.
National Rifle Association Handgun Control
It can be very useful to look at .ORG sites from opposing camps.
URL Clues .GOV sites are generally reliable pages
the party in power may choose
statistics to published studies to funded
.EDU are often and mistakenly assumed to have more
reliable content.
.EDU sites cover the whole range of purposes that are served by .COM, .ORG, and .GOV sites.
They may try to sell themselves to prospective students Offer outlets to various organizations Serve as a host to personal websites Publish information as required by law. The principle of academic freedom for faculty
Removes any or at least most scrutiny of their webpages
Apply the Five W’s Who wrote the page? What does the author say is the
purpose? When was the site created, updated, last worked on? Where does the information come from? Why is the information useful?