Evaluating
Internet Based Information

The World Wide Web is expanding at an unbelievable rate. Some experts say that a new site is placed online every 3 seconds!!

It is possible for almost anyone to place anything on theInternet. How can we be sure that the information we receive onlineis accurate? Let us read what some of the experts say.

Here are several sets of Web sites to look at (please email other favorites so I can post them ddescy@yahoo.com):

• The Bill Clinton and Bob Dole on the same ticket (Is it real?): http://www.dole.org

• Several towns to look at:
  The Mankato, Minnesota Home Page (Which URL looks real? Why?):
  
• http://www.ci.mankato.mn.us/
• http://city-mankato.us
• Take a look at the New Hartford, Minnesota Page.
• Is there a hidden city beneath Central park? Check http://CentralPark-ny.us. Is this the special government underground facility that housed Hitler, Czar Nicholas, the Roswell alians, and now... Howard Stern???
• Finally... you can reach The End of the Internet! http://endofthenet.net There is only one way to go... and that is back.
• Now try Fredericton, Canada:
  Check the picture of the mayor (many think that it is really me without a shirt...).

  You may want to check out these sites, but one of them is "R" rated and another rated "X":

• http://www.whitehouse.gov
• http://www.whitehouse.net
• http://www.whitehouse.org ("X" rated)

  Would you like a dog?:

• The Burmese Mountain Dog is a rare variety comes from Burma.
• The Bedlington Terrier is a rare variety and is very cute.

  Research and news:

• Vice Fund: So you can invest in politically incorrect industries and products: gambling, tobacco, alcohol, aerospace and defense. (This is a real site.)
• The Time Travel Fund. Your ticket to the future.
• Confess your sins and receive penance, without leaving the comfort of your desk at the Absolution Online.
• Not interested in that? Hows about CWW: Christian Womens Wrestling. A non-profit spirit-filled ministry taking Satan to the mat.
• Afterlife Telegrams. Terminally ill volunteers will memorize your messages and, upon death, deliver them to your friends and family on "the other side".
• Unfortunately Don Descy can't help you. He is dead.
• Be somebody! Buy your own famous Ancestor!
• General Delivery University America's only genuine diploma mill.
• The low-cost Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie will help you combat unwanted mind control.
• Feline Research: Cats and their reaction to beards.
• Follow Mr. Lee's pregnancy and see how 'real' males deal with it!
• This guy will pay $10,000 if you introduce him to his future wife.
• Ther are big, they are killers, they are predators, they are Cicadas. The deadly truth!!
• New Web Camera lets everyone have their own camera site!! Try it out!
• This site allows you to search over 220 million driver's licenses that have been scanned into a national database at DriversLicenseSearch and made publicly available.
• Click Monkeys will help to create the impression that millions of visitors are checking out your site by artificially inflating your hit count.
• Velcro: a near disaster with the California crop!
• Alex Chiu's amazing invention to allow eternal life: Live and let live!
• Strawberry Pop Tart Blow Torch.
• MrEdCo: Maple River Education Coalition Beacon of Education Truth.
• Congress passes the Americans With No Abilities Act. Finally an act to protect the rest of us.
• Other sites of interest:
• The True but Little Known Facts about Women and AIDS. What the media does not want you to know!
• Here is a Press Release from Mattel about two new Barbie Dolls.
• Moscow Subway Metrocam. See the trains under the city!
• Bon Bon the Voodoo Clown's Voodoo Cam - Live Evil!
• There is an interesting page describing the RealAroma Drive (tm) and RATML (RealAroma Text Markup Language) used to add smells to the World Wide Web. Also contains a nice description of SmellU SmellMe Aroma Conferencing software.
• Please check the Coalition to Ban Dihydrogen Monoxide Homepage. Everything on this page is true. Do you understand the problem?
• Don't forget while you are at it to buy dehydated water! As seen on TV.
• The Bureau of Sasquatch Affairs has a mission to protect the quality of life, trust assests and culture of the Cascadian Sasquatch.
• Good karma shoes make you a better person.
• Over 2,500 dogs are already enjoying a better life at Dog Island. Yoga videos for you and your cat!
• British Stick Insect Foundation http://www.brookview.karoo.net/Stick_Insects/ All you ever wanted to know about stick insects. How to feed them, train them, and breed them.
• Genochoice.com http://www.genochoice.com/ Use GenoChoice's technology to "create your own genetically healthy child online."
• The worlds largest collection of images and information on Victorian-era Robots!
• The Ova Prima Foundation http://www.ovaprima.org/ Which came first, the chicken or the egg? This organization has produced scientific evidence to suggest that it was the egg which came first
• Sellafield Zoo   http://www.brookview.karoo.net/Sellafield_Zoo/ The website of the Sellafield Zoo, located near the Sellafield Nuclear Power Plant. It boasts that it's the zoo "where the wildlife has a half-life."
• WingMakers.com http://www.wingmakers.com/ An incredibly elaborate site that was launched back in November 1998. It displays artifacts that were found in underground caves beneath the New Mexico deset by the Advanced Contact Intelligence Organization (ACIO), a secret branch of the U.S. Government's National Security Agency.
• A real US Federal Government Agency: FVZA. The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency.
• Clones-R-Us http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Network/9000/
• Jackolope conspiracy http:www.sudftw.com/jackcon.htm
• Help Save The Northwest Tree Octopus page http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html
• Minnesota Coconut Growers homepage. A University of Minnesota breaktrhough!
• Time to travel to the Moon http://www.dreamweaverstudios.com/moonbeam/moon.htm  
• Dick, Stretch and friend are The Three Amigos!
• 
  

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet

Consumer WebWatch: Research on how people rate credibility of Websites.

"Thinking Critically About World Wide Web Resources" by Esther Grassian atthe UCLA College Library.

"InformationQuality" from the "World Wide Web Virtual Library" by Matthew T.Ciolek.

"Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools" from the Cornell University Library.

"Critical Evaluation Surveys and Resources" by Kathy Schrock.

The Credibility PowerPoint Presentation presented by Don Descy.

Dr. Gail M.Staines, Coordinator of Library Instruction, Library LearningCenter at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, New Yorkcompiled this list of questions to ask when evaluating a Website.

Questions to ask.

• Are the facts and information presented accurate?
• How are they documented?
• Do they seem to be well researched?
• Is the information current?
• Is the information biased?
• Can you tell who the author(s) is (are)?
  • Do they list their credentials?
  • What are their educational backgrounds?
  • Are they experienced in their field?
  • Are the authors cited by others?
  • What are their institutional affiliations?
• Are criteria listed for including information?
• What is the scope of the site?
  • What is included as well as what is not included?
  • Are links provided to other sites?
• How does the information compare with other sources that are also available on the topic?
• Is the information or site stable through time?
• When was the information updated?

• How to critically analyze information sources by Joan Ormondroyd, Michael Engle, and Tony Cosgrove of the Reference Services Division at Cornell University Library.

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© 2008 Don E. Descy, Ph.D., All rights reserved.