College of DuPage Library

The Internet

The Internet is a computer network, in fact a network of computer networks, upon which anyone who has access to a host computer can publish their own documents. One of these networks is the World Wide Web (or just the Web) which allows Internet publishers to link to other documents on the network. The Internet allows transmission of a variety of file types, including non-written multimedia.

There are many kinds of Internet sites that you might find during the course of a search, sites created by different people or organizations with different objectives. Some of the more common ones are listed below:

TYPE PURPOSE
Commercial The purpose of this type of website is to sell products or services. The Internet address often ends with .com (example).
Country codes Websites from other countries have a country code at the end. For example Great Britain is .uk and Canada is .ca (example).
Educational The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about an educational establishment. The Internet address ends in .edu. (example).
Entertainment The purpose of this type of website is to entertain and provide amusement. The Internet address often ends with .com (example).
Government The purpose of this type of website is to provide information produced by government agencies, offices, and departments. Usually, information provided by government websites is very reliable. The Internet address often ends with .gov (example).
Military The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about the military. The Internet address ends in .mil. (example).
News The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about current events. The Internet address often ends with .com (example).
Organizational The purpose of this type of website is to advocate an individual's opinion or a group's point of view. The Internet address often ends with .org (example).
Personal The purpose of this type of website is to provide information about an individual. The Internet address has a variety of endings (example).
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research101

Evaluating Content

Issue Strategies
Does the work address your research question or meet the requirments of your assignment? Review your research question and/or assignment
If you created a concept, or brain map, consult it for gaps in your information
Is the content appropriate for your research topic or assignment?

• scholarly vs. popular
• fact vs. opinion
• format/medium
• subject coverage
• language
• time period
• geographical area
• audience
• primary vs. secondary

Check the table of contents or scan the subheadings
Read the preface, abstract, introduction, and/or conclusion
Look for footnotes or endnotes and/or a bibliography
Look for reviews

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research101

Evaluating Coverage

Issue Strategies
When was the work published? Look for a publication or copyright date on the

• Title page (books, journals)
• Reverse of the title page (books)
Cover (journals, magazines, newspapers)
• Table of contents (journals, magazines)
Bottom of the page (web sites)

Dates on web pages may indicate

• When the page was created
• When the page was published on the web
• When the page was last revised

Is your topic one that requires current information? Topic areas requiring the most up-to-date information may include Science, Medicine, or current events
Has this source been revised, updated, or expanded in a subsequent edition? Search catalogs and other databases for more recent editions
Does the work update other sources? Compare publication dates and content to other sources you have found
Does it substantiate other materials you have read, or add new information? Seek out multiple points of view and include a diversity of sources and ideas
Have you found enough information to support your arguments? Look for gaps in your arguments and evidence

• Facts
• Statistics
• Evidence

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research101

Evaluating Quality

Issue Strategies
Is the information well-organized?
Look for: logical structure, main points clearly presented, main ideas unified by overarching idea, text flowing well (not choppy or stilted), argument not repetitive
  • Look at the section headings to indicate structure
  • Look for agreement among reviews
Has the author used good grammar and kept the text free of spelling or typographical errors? Read carefully for errors
Are graphics – images, tables, charts, diagrams – appropriate and clearly presented? 
Look for: clearly labeled graphics with descriptive title(s), graphics that are understandable without explanatory text		 Consider other ways to present the information
Is the information complete and accurate? 
Look for: Information that agrees with your own knowledge of the subject and with those of other specialists in the field, documents sources, describes methodology, addresses theories and facts that may negate the main thesis, and avoids questionable assumptions
  • Verify facts and statistics with a reliable source
  • Examine cited sources for authority and objectivity

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research101

Evaluating Objectivity


Issue Strategies

Does the author state the goals for this publication?

Look for: Language that informs, explains, educates, advocates, persuades or dissuades, sells a product or service, or serves as a soapbox

 ♦ Read the foreword, preface, abstract and/or introduction

Does the author exhibit a particular bias?

Look for: Commitment to a point of view, acknowledgement of bias, presentation of facts and arguments for only one side of a controversial issue, language full of emotion-arousing words and bias

 ♦ Read the abstract and/or introduction
♦ Examine the work for:

  • Inflammatory language
  • Images or graphic styles (e.g., text in color or boldface type) to persuade you of the author's point of view
  • Propaganda
  • Author's arguments or supporting facts
  • Author's conclusions
  • Bibliography that includes multiple points of view

Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched?

Look for: Reasonable assumptions and conclusions, arguments and conclusions supported by evidence , opposing points of view addressed, opinions not disguised as facts, cited sources authoritative

 ♦ Verify facts and statistics with a reliable source
♦ Examine cited sources for authority and objectivity

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research101

Usefulness

Before reviewing the questions below, select one of the following sources as most useful for a research paper on the current use of primates in scientific laboratories: 

When deciding whether or not an information source is useful in the context of your research, you should consider the following issues regarding content.
Click on the linked term to the right of each issue for a set of activities that will clarify your understanding of each:

Are the goals for this publication clearly stated?
Is there a particular bias evident? Is the viewpoint of the author's affiliation reflected in the message or content? Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched?
OBJECTIVITY
Does this appear to be quality work?
Is the information well-organized? Has the author used good grammar? Are the graphics – images, tables, charts, diagrams – appropriate and clearly presented?
QUALITY
How does it cover your topic?
Is it comprehensive? an overview? highly detailed and narrowly-focused? Does the work update other sources?
COVERAGE
Does the work address your research question or meet the requirments of your assignment?
Is the content appropriate for your research topic or assignment?
RELEVANCE
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research101

Credibility

Author's Credibility

Credentials: plural noun. The abilities and experience which make someone suitable for a particular job or activity, or proof of someone's abilities and experience

Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2003

Do you believe everything you read? Knowing more about an author can help you judge her or his credibility.

If you were writing about the relationship between human activity and the temperature of the earth, whose work would you choose to include in your paper? Look for clues that suggest their level of expertise and/or bias.

In terms of evaluating an author, credentials include degrees received, titles held, professional affiliations, years of activity in a field, publication history, fields of inquiry, and the characteristics of publications in which their work has appeared.

Publisher's Credibility

Similar to judging an author's credentials, knowing more about a publishing company can help you understand their potential biases. Keep in mind that publishing standards vary for each publishing house. XYZ Publishing may print anything that will bring a profit, whereas H. University Press may screen all information they publish to ensure the validity of the content, protecting their reputation.

There are several general categories of publishers:

  • Commercial publishing houses like Macmillan, Time/Warner, or Knopf.
  • University Presses, like the University of Washington Press or Michigan State University Press.
  • Associations, societies, businesses, industries, and services that publish their own periodicals, newsletters, staff training documents, operating schedules, brochures, etc.
  • Governments and intergovernmental bodies, such as the United Nations.
  • Web publishers, which includes anyone with access to a computer network and a host computer to store and deliver their publications, including the "traditional" publishing houses
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Your Search Strategy

Here are some tips if you found too much information, too little information, or the wrong information in your search.

Too Much Information

1. Try looking at an irrelevant record your search retrieved

Can you figure out why the database gave it to you? Did you use one word that the computer misunderstood? See if you can use a more specific term or maybe a short phrase that excludes the meaning you don't want.

Try adding a new term which makes your old term more specific.

Instead of:

Try:    

Japan and economy

Japan and economy and (auto or automobile or car)

2. Check where in the record your search terms matched

The best matches for topics are in fields like Subject or Title. Look for an Advanced or Expert Search option in the database to search in specific fields only, if you can.

3. Use limiters when they're available

Will the database let you ask for publications only in English? Can you ask for only journal articles? Want more recent information? Is there a subject heading that covers your topic? Can you get rid of book and film reviews? Play around with your options and see if they help. Try using the operator NOT.

• (Iran and Iraq) NOT war
• Hussein AND NOT Saddam
• Clinton NOT Bill
• +Jazz -Utah

Too Little Information

1. Did you spell your search terms correctly?

Research databases are remarkable tools, but they don't come equipped with spell checkers. One misspelled word can sink an entire search. Check a dictionary.

2. Get rid of long phrases

When you type in a phrase, all the words must appear in exactly that order before the database will give you anything. Some databases automatically put the operator AND between the words you type, turning your phrase into a long Boolean search string.

Very narrow

Narrow

Broader

Very broad

recombinant DNA and sheep

cloning and animals

genetic engineering and animal*

genetic* and animal*

The Wrong Information

1.Check the coverage of the databases you're using

Do they cover the kinds of material you need? The right discipline(s)? The right kinds of documents? The right dates? Under the "Databases By Title" tab, click the 'i' next to each database to learn its discipline scope and date range.

2. Try going to "Databases By Subject" in the COD Library's Databases page

Click on your general subject area (History, Biology, etc.) This will generate a list of good starting points in your subject.

3. Try drilling down through the "Research" section of COD Library's website.

They're set up like Yahoo! and similar Web sites, which means you have to know what general field your subject falls under (Social Sciences? Sciences? Interdisciplinary (2 or more disciplines)? Government and Law?) Try a few of these and see where you can find your subject. Then try using some of the databases you find linked there.

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research101

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