Vetting a Web Site

According to Nick Carbone, author of Writing Online: A Student’s Guide to the Internet and the World Wide Web, (Houghton Mifflin, 2000), research online can not be separated from research offline. Good judgment and critical thinking skills are vital for any research, but when evaluating a web site the following questions will prove helpful:

Authority

• What person, institution or agency developed the web site?
• Is contact information provided (email address, phone number, fax number)?
• Are credentials or qualifications presented? Are they appropriate to the information provided?
• With whom is the author affiliated?
• What type of domain is it? (.edu, .org, .gov, .com)

Purpose

• Some sites are meant to inform, state an opinion, entertain or parody.
• What is the purpose of the site and does the content support it?
• Are the links appropriate? Do the links maintain the same level of authority (see above)?
• Does the information provided have a particular bias? To what end?

Accuracy

• You are responsible for determining the accuracy of any information you use.
• Is the author affiliated with a known institution?
• Are references provided? A bibliography? Are you familiar with the books or authors listed?
• From the reading you have done on the subject, does the information seem accurate?
• Does the text follow basic rules of spelling, grammar and composition?
• When was the information compiled? How current is it?
• What do others say?
• Look up the author on Google.
• Does it all add up? Only you can tell.

Search Engines
While Google is still preferred by many academics, the following search engines might prove useful:

www.ipl.org - This is maintained by librarians who find and evaluate quality Internet resources.

www.ingenta.com -Has current information from 17K journals (no, not all of them are art related). Searches are free but you may be asked to pay for an article if you wish to download it.

Stating a Source

Every browser is different, but these might help:
Internet Explorer – Under “Tools” double click on “See Related Links”.
Netscape – Under “View” double click on “Page Source”.

What do you have to add? We would love to circulate your hints, contact Marsha Holm at callholm@alamedanet.net