Photo: spouting mouth, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Critical Evaluation

Karen Bronshteyn

Read your sources critically and analytically.
 
oThere is a tendency to overlook the fact that many .com sites fail to list an author. This makes them harder to cite, and quite difficult to evaluate.  If several of your sources are lacking an author -- look for better sources.
 
Who generates information?  Skill, time, facilities, and $$ are general prerequisites needed to conduct original, scientific research.  For this reason, most authoritative information is originally provided by well-funded universities, government agencies, and large not-for-profits. Keep in mind this concept of who is capable of generating information while researching on the Internet.  Anyone can post anything without an editor to check the facts. 
 
A fast and popular research method is to use the first 10 search results on Google.  However, this method does not discriminate for quality web sites.
 
 
McIntyre Library Handout:  The 10 C's of evaluating internet sites.
 
 
McIntyre Library 1001D • University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire • Eau Claire WI 54702-4004
Phone: 715/836-5961
Questions/Comments: bronshkc@uwec.edu
Updated: November 30, 2006