|
2. Internet Research Tips, Page 1
-
Websites provide four types of information. When researching, you need to realize what you are getting
and its level of reliability.
Reproduced Pages from Printed Sources
This data has accountability - copyright laws, editors, readers. Each accountability factor helps catch mistakes
or misinformation. Universities, government, and many organizations offer this kind of information. (ie. copied historical
documents, full-text out-of-print books, maps) Many newspapers, journals, and magazines reproduce their pages for the Internet.
Shortened Versions of Printed Sources
These sites provide sections of books, articles and documents. Some magazines also use shorter versions of their
articles for on-line reading. Though the information given is often good, researchers need to be careful of
loosing the context of data or of possible missing pieces of vital information.
Purchased E-Writing
This information has one person checking for accuracy and quality, but material from these sites needs to be
checked. Who is the author? Who publishes the website? Do quality sources link to it?
Private Writing
People of all types post on the Internet with no accountability. That makes information gained from
private sites a gamble. Some are well done, with sited sources and excellent research. Others, however, are
little more than opinion or encyclopedic. Consider these: Are sources sited? Is there a Contact link? Is the
site maintained - check revised date? Have good sites linked with the page?
-
Another reliability check can be the type of site. Look at the web address and note the extension used.
.gov = Designated Government site and limited to city, state or federal government agencies -- good historic info and
current facts but can have political bias.
.edu = Designated Educational site and limited to public and private institutions of learning. It can be an excellent
university project or an elementary school assignment.
.mil = Designated Military site and limited to the Armed Forces – reliable but often bias information.
.com = Designated Commercial site, and the extension can be purchased by anyone. If a business, the information will
be tied to selling something.
.org = Designated Organization site, and the extension can be purchased by anyone. It can have reliable information but
may still reflect a bias.
.net = Designated Network site and can be purchased by anyone. Is similar to a commercial site but can be part of a
larger network. Its reliability will be connected to who established the network and why.
.info and other = as websites increase, so do the extensions. These are easily purchased and their content may or may not contain quality information.
-
Back up your research. A virus or crash will wipe out all your work.
|