Below are some recommended Web resources that will help you with your research for your paper. There is a lot more information out there in Tiburcio Vasquez than William Hartnell so be aware of that when doing your research. If you do use Google or another search engine to do further research make sure that you are getting information from reliable websites.
When searching the Internet for information, you must be critical of the websites and the information that you come across. If you are not sure if a website or source is legitimate you can check with your professor, a librarian, or a trusted colleague to check if it is legitimate or not. Below are some criteria for evaluating websites that can be very helpful to you if you do question a website.
· CURRENCY
o Dates are not always included on webpages.
o If the date is included, it may have various meanings:
§ The date the information was first written.
§ The date the information was placed on the Internet.
§ The date the website was last revised.
· RELIABILITY
o Anyone can publish on the Internet.
o Many Internet resources are not verified by editors and/or fact checkers.
o Web standards to ensure accuracy have yet to be developed.
o Ask yourself:
§ Can you verify the information from another source?
§ Are any references given?
· AUTHORITY
o It is often difficult to determine authorship of Internet resources.
o Ask yourself:
§ If author's name is listed, what qualifies the author as an expert?
§ If the site has been provided by an organization, are they reliable?
§ Does the URL or domain tell you anything about the resource? (For example: .com, .gov, .edu, etc...)
· PURPOSE
o Goals/aims of persons or groups presenting material are often not clearly stated.
o The Internet often functions as a 'virtual soap box'
o Ask yourself:
§ Are they trying to sell you something? Persuade you? Educate or inform you?
§ What is the intended audience?
§ Are there advertisements on the website? Can you draw any conclusions about the site based on the advertisers?
§ Does the site appear to be affiliated with an organization with a particular point of view?
OTHER FACTORS