Evaluating the information you find on the Internet is critical because the quality of resources posted there varies tremendou

.gov – United States government

.net – Internet organizations such as Internet service providers

.org – Nonprofit organizations and other groups

Each country has its own domain as well, such as .us for the United States and .it for Italy.

HTML: This acronym stands for Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the language used to create Web

pages. It consists of a series of codes that are interpreted by a Web browser in order to display the contents

of a particular Web page. Commonly used Web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

Hyperlink: A hyperlink allows you to link text in one document or Web page to different text in the same document or page or to text in a different document or page altogether. Typically, clicking on the hyperlink connects the user to the new text.

Internet: The Internet is a network of computer networks. A network consists of two or more computers that are interconnected and capable of communicating and sharing data with each other. The Internet is a collection of these individual networks.

IP Address: An IP address is a specific address for a specific computer on a specific network. Basically, as

mentioned earlier, it is a numerical locator for computers.

PDF: PDF stands for Portable Document Format; this format was developed by Adobe Systems. PDF

allows you to open a document across a broad range of hardware and software and have it look exactly as

the creator intended—with layout, fonts, links, and images intact.

URL: This stands for Uniform Resource Locator. A URL is an address that locates a Web site on the

Internet. An example of a URL is: http://www.medicare.gov.

WWW: This is the acronym for the World Wide Web, a system of Internet servers that supports documents

formatted in HTML, which supports links to other documents.

Searching the Internet

As the Internet has continued to expand, the use of Internet directories and search engines has become

the norm in terms of searching for specific information on the Web. Each of these tools has strengths

and weaknesses when it comes to searching for information.

INTERNET DIRECTORIES

Internet directories are collections of Web links that have been systematically placed into subject categories. These directories provide selected and categorized information. Directories are most useful when you have a specific topic in mind or you want to get a general idea about what is available on a subject. The disadvantage to using an Internet directory is that it tends to retrieve fewer documents than a

search engine, but usually there are also fewer false hits in terms of the information gathered by the

directory. Examples of Internet directories include MEDLINEplus (http://www.medlineplus.gov) and

Yahoo (http://www.yahoo.com).

INTERNET SEARCH ENGINES

Internet search engines are software applications that perform rapid searches of databases of words taken

from Web documents. Often referred to as a “spider” or “crawler,” a search engine tends to retrieve more

hits (i.e., locate more items) than directories because of the volume of documents included in these databases. However, the probability for false hits increases with search engines.

The information retrieved by the engines is usually ranked in order of relevancy. A word of caution, though: Search engines perform literal searches based upon words and phrases, not concepts. Examples of Internet search engines include Google (http://www.google.com) and Alta Vista (http://altavista.com).

A final comment on the use of Internet search engines: Search engine coverage has decreased in

comparison to the amount of information provided on the Web. The software used to crawl the Web

simply cannot keep up with the growth of information on the Internet. Thus it is a good idea to use

multiple search engines to research your topic to be sure that you get as many resources as you can.

Evaluation Criteria for Internet Resources

The Internet can be a tremendous resource for professionals since it offers information from all over the

world. Because so much information is available and because sources can appear to be anonymous, it is a

good idea to develop skills to evaluate whether or not the information you find is reliable. The Internet

allows anyone to publish information; excellent resources reside alongside the most questionable

resources. Therefore, in this section we provide some The following criteria can help to assess information that you find on the Internet.

ACCURACY

. Can the information be verified in other sources?

. Are references cited?

. Is the document well-constructed (i.e., good grammar, no spelling errors)?

. Does the site name an editor or someone who verifies the content?

Accuracy or verifiability of the information provided is an important part of the evaluation process, especially if you are not familiar with the source. Also, in terms of research documents, it is important that the Web site includes information about the methodology and data collection, so that others can duplicate

the study for purposes of verification.

AUTHORITY

. Is there an author listed? If so, is there contact information listed for that author?

. Is the author an authority on this subject?

. Who is the sponsor?

Authority is a major criteria used in evaluating the reliability of information. When reviewing information,

you want to be sure that the author speaks with some sort of authority on the subject matter. Also,

because search engines may retrieve Web pages out of context, it may be difficult to discern the source.

Check the header or footer or try to return to the home page of the sponsoring organization for documentation of authorship and/or sponsorship. Since the accuracy of each link cannot be guaranteed, it is

important to evaluate each page separately for authorship, sponsorship and contact information.

OBJECTIVITY

. Is any potential bias acknowledged upfront?

. Is the page or site promoting a particular viewpoint? Is the page designed to sway opinion?

. Is the advertising separate from the objective information on the page?

When evaluating information on the Internet, it is important to determine who is providing the information

and what their point of view or bias might be. Everyone has an opinion, and the popularity of the Internet—and the lack of quality control—makes it a perfect venue for authors to post questionable data in order to sway your opinion.

CURRENCY

. Is the information clearly dated? If so, when was the last revision?

. Are updates planned at given intervals?

. How current are the links to other documents? Have some expired or moved?

Currency refers to the timeliness of the information posted on the Internet. Currently there is no standardization to the meaning of dates on a Web site. Published dates may refer to when the page was written, when the material was first placed on the Web site or when the material was last updated. Web

pages that are kept current usually contain more reliable information. Also, it is important to evaluate

each link between documents separately. Broken links are a measure of an out-of-date Web page.

COVERAGE

. What is the scope of the Web page?

. Does it contain references to more material?

. What does this page offer that is not found elsewhere?

It is sometimes difficult to determine the depth of coverage of a particular subject on a Web site since

the format is different than what is printed on paper. At times the information may be condensed on the

Web site. Therefore, references to other sites or documents will give you further opportunities to find

information related to the subject matter.