The Dean's Book Course Guide to
Evaluating E-Sources
Research assignments in the Dean's Book Course require students to draw their information from a variety of online archives and collections other than the Web and to use a variety of university-provided databases, not just commercial search engines like Google or Yahoo or AltaVista.
Database Source and Web Source Pros & Cons
Web Sources (Google, Yahoo, AltaVista, etc.)
Accessibility - easy, anytime
Speed - fast
Scope - vast, open to all, unscreened
Quality - mixed, unvetted
Objectivity - highly mixed, often commercial or political
Permanence - may be removed anytime without notice
UMass Library Database Sources
Accessibility - easy, anytime, on-campus or off
Speed - fast
Scope - 17,000 journals, magazines and newspapers
Quality - peer reviewed by scholars, selected by librarians
Objectivity - scholarly journals without commercial bias
Permanence - ongoing subscription or permanent collection
To access UMass Library Databases, go to the DBC Research Guide
Recording and Using the Evaluations You Make
Before starting your research, set up a research log for yourself using the research log template. The research log, which is a searchable record of all your research findings, contains an entry for the "Evaluation of material" presented in each source. This is the place to note down your assessment of each article or web site you encounter. Be as formal or informal as you like in taking notes, but be thorough. In your review of the literature, you will include an assessment of each relevant source you find, whether it is worth using in your discussion of the subject or not.
Evaluating Sources
• Relevance
The first judgment you'll make is whether the source you've found does, in fact, help answer your research question. If it has no relevance, abandon it. But if it relates in any way—to support or to contradict your own working hypothesis—note it in your research log, plan to include it in your literature review, and, especially if it's a web source rather than a library database source, prepare to evaluate it further using the criteria for Evaluating Web Sources listed below.
• Relationship to other sources
Whether it's a library database or web source you're evaluating, consider its relationship to other sources you find. Does it agree with some sources but contradict others? Does it amplify information presented elsewhere? Does it offer a unique perspective or new set of facts? etc.
• Relationship to your own research question & hypothesis
Note also each source's fit with your own research question and working hypothesis. Does it corroborate your initial thesis? Contradict it? Modify it somewhat? Or perhaps prompt you to reframe the starting question itself?
Evaluating Web Sources
Popular search engines like Google and Yahoo provide almost instant access to millions—literally millions—of unvetted, uncensored web sites in the public domain of the worldwide web.
The volume can be overwhelming. Googling "Iran" produces about 192,000,000 sites in 0.12 seconds. Narrowing the search to "iran islamic revolution" produces 1,440,000 in 0.19 seconds. The ten listed on the first page are not necessarily the most informative or reliable. They are the sites most visited—and often they're most visited because they're on the first page.
When using Google or any other search engine like it, you need to evaluate sources carefully for yourself. Use essentially the same criteria you would use for print sources, modified to fit the Web.
• Author/Authority
Is the site signed or otherwise attributed to an author? Is that author reputable or affiliated with a reputable institution? If you don't recognize the author, check the name in a library database for other publications. Or Google the author's name to learn more.
• Affiliation/Sponsor
If no author is given, consider the institution or organization sponsoring the site. If you don't recognize the sponsoring group, again try Googling it to learn more. Even if you do think you recognize the sponsoring group, be sure it's not a false site mimicking or satirizing the legitimate one.
Check the URL: if its suffix is .edu or .gov or .org, the sponsor is probably trustworthy. If the suffix is .com or .net, the site could be reliable and legitimate, but it could also belong to anyone with access to a for-pay server.
• Accuracy
You may not know all the facts, but you can use what you do know to make reasonable judgments about a site's accuracy. First, is the writing correct and coherent? Second, are ideas supported by factual evidence and logical reasoning? Third, is the presentation of information consistent within itself? Fourth, is the information consistent with information presented in other reliable sources? Some disagreement among sources is to be expected, but major discrepancies should be carefully scrutinized.
• Age
Is the site dated? Is the information up to date? If you are researching an historical event, using an old source may be appropriate. Some older sources are influential, even seminal, and therefore again appropriate to use. But other topics require the most current information and most all are subject to revision and reinterpretation.
• Bias v. Objectivity
Legitimate authors make claims and arguments, but they acknowledge they are doing so and do not disguise an opinion as fact. Ask yourself some questions. Does the author present both sides of an argument fairly or one side as self-evident and the other absurd? Is the language rational or inflammatory? Is the purpose of the site to inform or sell (a product or position)? What messages do the site's icons, images, and pop-ups convey?
A Note on Wikipedia
Wikipedia is not a search engine but a large and extremely popular, often-cited online encyclopedia. While some instructors discourage the use of all encyclopedias including Wikipedia in college-level research, others accept them as affording an initial overview of any topic. Unlike print and commercial online encyclopedias, however, Wikipedia is not compiled by professionals. Built on the wiki design, it allows readers to edit, add to and monitor its content.
For more information, visit Wikipedia, read the Wikipedia entry on Wikipedia, or read one critique (among many) of Wikipedia as a trustworthy information source. But also beware misinformation. Because of the many errors Middlebury College professors found in student papers citing Wikipedia, the college's history department recently banned its use. Even Wikipedia itself gives advice on Researching with Wikipedia. Our suggestion: use Wikipedia for an overview of your topic and a source of other potentially useful sites, but do not cite it as a direct source of information unless you've found at least two other reliable sources corroborating the information.
Other Resources for Evaluating Web Sites
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