Evaluate the authority and bias of the Internet site
Sometimes it is very difficult to discover who actually provided the
information available at a Web site. One can always
check if the site is officially mandated by an
organization or institution. Is it a individual's page or is it
institutionally supported? Was it created by a subject area expert or
by an undergraduate student doing a class project?
Checking the publisher of the information may be helpful. Sites in
the .edu (education) or .gov (government) domains have often built
important databases in specific topic areas and/or have public
information and services available on-line. Sites in the .com
(commercial) and .org (organization) domains are usually selling
something - a product or a point of view.
Bias can be introduced in any Web site furthering a political or social
philosophy and in any domain, however, it is most prevalent in
organization Web sites (.org).
Email, web chats, threaded conversations, provide special cases for
consideration. Electronic communication in these formats may provide
valuable archives of conversations
between or from experts, but does the informal nature
lessen its value
as an authoritative reference?
Things to look for:
- Who provided the information and why
- What credentials do they have
- Is the provider affiliated with a known organization
- Is a point of view being "sold" to the user
- Can you find explicit statements of authority - such as a statement of
institutional support.
- For "advocacy" pages see Checklist for an
Advocacy Web Page from Widener University.
Peafowl
Algebra
Butterfly Web Site
Planned Parenthood
ProLife Resources
Table of Contents | Next
Originally published May 1996 by Lida L. Larsen, Assistant Director,
Collegial Relations and Information Services, Office of Information
Technology, University of Maryland, College Park. Revised
January 2007. Copyright Protected
Questions, comments, and suggestions can be sent
to lidalarsen@acm.org
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