A slide presentation for undergraduates to review explaining how to select an authoritative source on the Internet.

1. Kimberly A. Reed
Dominican University
12/26/09

2. How can I see through the grey areas in web
pages when there are so many to choose from?

3. Accuracy ? Authority?
 Author’s Qualifications  Credentials
 Full Contact  URL domain, edu, gov,
Information org or net
 Cites sources  Institution or
 Offers added links and association hosts page
published bibliography  Publications or
 Links to authoritative statement of
sites qualification or interest
 Recommended  Biography or affiliation
How does this sound? Who wrote this page?

4.  Who is the page written for?
 What are the sources of information? They
should be cited.
 Highly authoritative sources will include a
citation of source, methods used or link.
 Very important that polls list their author,
date, sample number and margin of error.

5. Currency, up to date Coverage, not just a title
 When was this page  Free or requires
made? registration?
 Substantive reporting,
 Is content updated not just pretty
frequently? Links are live? pictures?
 Fully defines and
 Is this the most up to covers your topic or
date information you can search question?
find on this topic?  Proper citations?
Search for most recent? Are your bases covered?

6.  Kapoun, Jim. "Teaching undergrads WEB
evaluation: A guide for library instruction."
C&RL News (July/August 1998): 522-523;
reprinted at
 “Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages,”
http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/w
ebcrit.html
 “Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply
and Questions to Ask,”
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Gui
des/Internet/Evaluate.html