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Web information encounters different patterns of peer review. Voices of experience are not always heard on the Web. Unlike the peer review processes formal scholarly work often undergoes, the traditions for Web information review are not mature. Often, Web information can encounter a maelstrom of comment and critique similar to what a Usenet FAQ list faces. In other cases, collaborators or experts in a field or topic assist in reviewing and correcting Web information. In still other cases, "peer review" has little meaning: personal information (home pages), artistic expressions, and other information on informal webs (opinion, descriptions, product information, etc.) doesn't necessarily require close critique aside from accuracy checks to be valuable. Moreover, measures of value and "correctness" gained from traditional media can't be applied to a medium that is highly dynamic and, by its nature, always incomplete.[December, J. 1994. Challenges for Web Information Providers. Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine 1:6]
When you use Internet based resources how do you examine the validity and value of those resources? The fact that something has been published on the Internet says nothing about its believability or its relevance. In fact, Internet based resources require closer scrutiny than those found through more traditional means. We have had several hundred years to develop the tools and mechanisms to evaluate and validate printed resources. Unfortunately, because of the distributed nature of the Internet and the volatility of the resources found there, these tools and mechanisms are no longer adequate. We need to learn an expanded set of skills and develop new tools for managing this information. The following links are a starting point for those interested in the validation of Internet based resources. If you know of any links which you think should be included here, please let me know.
Evaluation
of information sources - The WWW Virtual Library. Edited by Alastair
Smith.
Information Literacy as a Liberal Art - Enlightenment proposals for a new
curriculum - Jeremy J. Shapiro and Shelley K. Hughes, Educom Review,
Volume 31, Number 2, March/April 1996.
Evaluating Internet Resources - A Checklist - Berkeley
Resource
Selection and Information Evaluation - Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Parkland
College Library. Discusses where information is found on the 'Net, and
the accuracy and reliability of information. Compares evaluation methods
of print and electronic (Internet) sources.
W3C/ANU
- Information Quality WWW Virtual Library - Edited by Dr. T. Matthew
Ciolek. Includes definitions of information quality, ethics, and etiquette,
and citing electronic sources.
Evaluating
Internet Resources. - Don E. Descy, Ph.D, Mankato State University
Internet
Source Validation Project - Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty
of Education. A good first attempt to look at what is necessary to teach
students and others how to validate Internet based resources.
Evaluating
Quality On the Net - Hope N. Tillman, Director of Libraries, Babson
College. Based on a presentation for Computers In Libraries adapted from
a presentation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The most in-depth
treatment of this topic that I've found to date.
Kathy
Schrock's Guide for Educators : Critical Evaluation Surveys - Although
written for K-12 educators, this site contains evaluation instruments which
are easily adaptable for use by educators, students, and librarians.
Ten
C's for Evaluating Internet Resources - Elizabeth Richmond, McIntyre
Library, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Loosely based on the critical
evaluation components of the annotation.Finding Information on the Internet | Choosing the Right Search Tool | Search Tips | Internet Search Indexes | Internet Search Engines | Evaluating Internet Resources | Reference Desk | Medical Radiography Home Page
This site maintained by Richard Terrass, M.Ed., R.T.(R), Dept. of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital. Address questions or comments to ricter@wn.net
Last updated Feb. 24, 2000.