Evaluating+Information

=Evaluation Criteria for Web Resources =

** Why is evaluation important? What evaluation criteria should I use? What are peer-reviewed sources? Why can't I just Google it? **

Click the play buttons on the avatars below to listen.

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While internet search engines such as Google can be used to access an abundance of information on any topic, this information is not always accurate, reliable, or appropriate for research purposes. Commercial search engines rank their results by popularity, which is not a good measure of quality or reliability. Conversely, obtaining information from a subscription database does not in itself guarantee that the information will be appropriate for the project at hand. It is important to be able to recognize the types of resources that will add value to your research paper. One way to evaluate internet sources is to apply the following criteria:


 * **Currency:** When was the web page or website created? Is the information provided up to date? Are all of the links on the page still active?
 * **Authority:** Who is the author (or authoring agency) of the website and its content? Are the author's credentials listed on the site? What authority does the author or authoring agency have in the subject area covered?
 * **Bias/Objectivity:** What is the purpose of this site? What position is presented in relation to your topic? What other websites does this site link to?
 * **Accuracy:** Can you verify the information presented in this website? What additional sources support the information found on the site?

=**Why Can't I Just Google?** = **Video by La Trobe University Library, Australia** media type="youtube" key="N39mnu1Pkgw" height="315" width="420" align="center"

Embedded with permission from La Trobe University Library Communications and Online Learning

=What are peer-reviewed articles? =

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Some instructors require that students use **peer-reviewed** or **refereed** articles, usually considered to be the same thing. Peer-reviewed articles are, as the name suggests, reviewed by the author's "peers" prior to publication. That is, subject experts read the article, make edits, and either reject the article or recommend it for publication. This ensures the quality of articles published in a scholarly journal. Many databases allow users to limit their searches to peer-reviewed articles.