The World Wide Web--Most Immediate, Publishing Hourly
Time Frame: Immediately - several years after the event
Audience: General public - scholars, researchers, and students
Authorship: General public - scholars, researchers, and students
Content: General overview - detailed analysis
Length: One screen with few links - many screens with several links
EXAMPLES:
CNN Interactive (http://www.cnn.com/)
JAMA HIV/AIDS Information Center (http://www.ama-assn.org/special/hiv/hivhome.htm)Entertainment Weekly (http://www.ew.com/ew)
Why consult a world wide web page?
Immediate coverage of an event
Access to information that is not available in print format
Sometimes more detailed coverage
Sometimes additional resources from footnotes and bibliography
Statistics, Graphs & Charts may be available
How to Find World Wide Web Pages
Evaluating Web-Pages for Credibility
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html
Evaluating Online Resources Notebook by UIS Professor Ray Schroeder
Evaluating Web Resources by Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate, Wolfgram Memorial Library, Widener University
How to Evaluate a Web Page from Colorado State University.
Teaching Undergrads Web Evaluation by Jim Kapoun, in College & Research Libraries News (July/August 1998)
Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources by Esther Grassian, UCLA College Library
Newspapers--Relatively Immediate, Publishing Daily
Time Frame: One day - one week after the event
Audience: General Public
Authorship: Reporters
Content: Summary or overview of the event;basic factual information coveringwho, what, where, when, and how
Length: Brief
EXAMPLES:
The New York Times;
The Washington Post;
The Raleigh News and Observer
Why consult a newspaper?
Statistical information
Local news coverage
Immediate news coverage
Photographs
Editorials
How to Find Newspapers
Popular Magazines--Immediate, In-Depth, Publishing Weekly
Time Frame: 1 week - 1 month after the event
Audience: General Public
Authorship: Journalists
Content: General Overview; summary of the eventcovering who, what, where, when, howand starting to analyze why
Length: 1-5 pages
EXAMPLES:
Time;
Newsweek;
National Geographic
Why consult a popular magazine?
Statistical information
General overview of a current event; more detailed analysis than a newspaper
Public opinion
Photographs
How to Find Magazines
Determining the difference between popular magazines vs. scholarly journals.
Scholarly Journals: Intermittent, Monthly, Quarterly
Time Frame: Several months - years after the event
Audience: Scholars, researchers, and students
Authorship: Scholars and researchers
Content: Research; theories; study and experimental results;and analysis
Length: Many pages (usually over 5 pages)
EXAMPLES:
Journal of Child Development;
Journal of the American Medical Association;
American Quarterly, etc.
Why consult a scholarly journal?
More in depth examination of a subject
Additional resources from footnotes and bibliography
Statistics
Graphs
How to Find Scholarly Journals
Determining the difference between popular magazines vs. scholarly journals.
Reference Sources: Encyclopedias, Handbooks
Time Frame: Several months - years after the event
Audience: General Public- specialists
Authorship: Scholars and specialists
Content: General Overview
Length: Varies among sources
EXAMPLES:
Dictionary of Art;
Encyclopedia of the American West;American Decades; etc.
Why consult a reference resource?
Background information
Overview
Statistics
Additional resources - bibliographies
How to Find Reference Resources and Background Information
Books--Published Yearly, Extended Time After Event
Time Frame: At least 1 year - several years after the event
Audience: General public - scholars, researchers, and students
Authorship: Scholars and researchers
Content: Detailed analysis; sometimes a compilation ofarticles from several scholars
Length: Numerous pages - often over 100 pages
EXAMPLES:
Negotiating Difference;The Press of Ideas;
Women, Art and Society
Why consult a book?
Detailed analysis of a subject
Multiple viewpoints often portrayed - especially in a compilation of articles
Additional resources found in footnotes and bibliography
How to Find Books
Cramer, Steven. "Part 4: Selecting Resources." Guide to Library Research. 14 July 2003. Duke University. 25 Nov 2006 http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/selecting.htm.
Evaluating Your Sources for Credibility
http://library.uis.edu/findinfo/evaluate.html
Critically Analyzing Information Sources (Cornell University)
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask (UC Berkeley)
Evaluating Web Resources (Jan Alexander and Marsha Ann Tate, Widener University)
Evaluating Web Sites (The Ohio State University)
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluation Web Sources (Susan E. Beck, New Mexico State University)
Further Reading
Ciolek, T.M. (1996). The six quests for the electronic grail: Current approaches to information quality in WWW resources. Retrieved 30 October 2004 from http://www.ciolek.com/PAPERS/six-quests1996.html
Standler, R.B. (2004, May 25). Evaluating credibility of information on the Internet. Retrieved 30 October 2004 from http://www.rbs0.com/credible.pdf
Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab. (2004). The web credibility project. Retrieved 30 October 2004 from http://credibility.stanford.edu/
Tillman, H.N. (2003, March). Evaluating quality on the net. Retrieved 30 October 2004 from http://www.hopetillman.com/findqual.html
