Why Should
I Take this Author Seriously?
Students, you are information consumers!
Before the Web, you had help in selecting information. Publishers, editors,
librarians and teachers contributed to ensuring the information you used was
of high quality. In the self-publishing environment of the Web, you need to
be a careful consumer. You want to be sure the sources you use are credible.
Remember the old
saying: "Garbage in, garbage out!"
If you are unsure of an author's
credentials, you might have difficulty defending use of his or her work in your
documentation. Your teacher is likely to question you if you quote an expert
who is unknown. Do a little legwork before you complete your project. If you
run into any trouble at all finding sources, consult with your librarian!
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Consider:
- Searching the Web for
the author's resume or C.V. (curriculum vita or vitae). A C.V. is
a more formal, usually lengthier, resume format, written by people
in academic, research, or scientific environments. C.V.s generally
include lists of publications presentations, professional activities
and honors. If you cannot find a resume or C.V., at very least look
for evidence of a university affiliation, or association with a major
organization.
- Searching biographical
reference tools--Wilson's Biographies, Galenet's Biography Resource
Center. Contemporary Authors--in print or online, is extremely comprehensive and covers
writers in all fields of knowledge from antiquity to modern day. Phone
your nearest large public library and ask the reference librarian
to check the Who's Who reference books in the appropriate
subject area.
- Searching for news of
them in a periodical database. Try using their names as keywords in
sources like EbscoHost, Student Resource Center
Gold, Big Chalk Library.
- Doing a "link check".
In either AltaVista or Google, perform the following search <link:yoururl>.
Your results will show who else has linked to the page you are evaluating.
Would the pages that link to your page be considered reputable? Do
they review or annotate the page you are examining?
- Checking to see if your
page appears in a selective subject directory. For instance, has the
page been included in Librarians' Index to the Internet?
- Examining the URL. Though
there is no "etched in stone" rule, you can be guided by
an address. A site ending in .gov is likely to be a reliable government
site. A site ending in .org may be the work of a respected organization.
A site ending in .edu might be created by a university, or a college
or K-12 student. Sites which include a "~" are generally
personal sites. While they may be appropriate for serious research,
they are just as likely to be the product of a student (or faculty
member) of a reliable institution who has a lot of free time!
- Truncating the URL,
if no affiliation is available on the page you are examining. Your
goal is to try to get to the "root" page that might contain
information "about this site" or "about the author".
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Education
- Does the person have an advanced
degree? Is the degree related to the page you are
evaluating? A professor of physics, may not have
particular expertise writing about the Holocaust.
- Are there impressive letters after
his/her name--Ph.D? Ed. D?
- Is there evidence that the author is
involved in significant research? Are there other studies
by this author on the Web or in print?
- What evidence is offered of his or her
knowledge? Be suspect if the page lists no educational
credentials.
- How well documented is the work they
are presenting?
- Be skeptical. Remember, everyone has a
bias.
Experience
- How many years has the author been
writing, teaching, studying, or researching?
- How active have they been in their
area of speciality? Have others mentioned or cited them?
(You might find this information in a Web search.)
- Can you find other respected or
scholarly publications they have written?
- Do they offer any first-hand, primary
source-type experiences? A soldier present during the
D-Day invasion would not have to have a university degree
to offer important perspective on the event your are
studying!
- Is the person active in the area of
study? If you are researching the Olympic Games, a page
written by a noted gymnast, runner, boxer, or skater,
might have great value.
- Be skeptical. Remember, everyone has a
bias.
Affiliation/Reputation
- What is the author's
institutional or business affiliation? What title do they
hold?
- Is the page sponsored by an
organization?
- Is the person involved with a
university? Is it one you have heard of? Does it matter
if they are involved with a major university or a
community college?
- Is this person well known?
- In what type of journal is
their work published? Popular? Trade? Scholarly? Peer
reviewed?
- What do others say about
them? Has their work been reviewed or criticized?
- Is their involvement
commercial? Someone representing Philip Morris might
attack the issue of smokers' rights in a way quite
different from a representative of the American Cancer
Society?
- Be skeptical. Remember, everyone has a
bias.
This page was prepared by Joyce Valenza.
Please also refer to the information about
web site evaluation in our Research Project Guide.
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