Internet Is a Fantastic Learning

¶ … Internet is a fantastic learning and teaching tool and it has substantially revolutionized the process of conducting both academic and lay informational research. It is no longer necessary to rely on brick-and-mortar libraries to research information. Instead, the Internet portal provides instantaneous access to millions of published sources of information and millions of websites dedicated to specific topics of interest. Nowadays, practically all that one need to do to research a given topic is spell out a few key words into a search engine such as Google and one receives an immediate return that includes published journal articles, book excerpts, news reports, websites ranging from those published by government agencies and leading university research centers to high school students and lay people interested in the topic. However, this wide availability of sources also presents a potential obstacle because it means that the user has the responsibility of differentiating credible and authoritative information sources from completely unreliable sources of incorrect information and opinion without any basis in fact.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Identity of the Publishing Source

A reliable website should provide the identity of the publishing source, ideally with enough information for readers to determine exactly what organization is responsible for the website and what the basis of their authority is on the topic. Credible websites are those maintained by accredited institutions of higher learning, government agencies, and respected non-profit agencies that also provide a detailed historical background of the organization. Conversely, unreliable websites often provide no contact or identification information by which readers can identify the publisher. In many instances, websites maintained for the purpose of promoting for-profit entities and the products they sell are designed to appear authoritative and unbiased. In fact, they are strictly intended to promote commercial products and services and they may provide highly inaccurate and misleading information.

2. Credentials of the Author

Trustworthy websites generally provide sufficient information to identify the author of the material. Typical examples of credible authors would include professors at accredited institutions of higher learning, professional researchers, and individuals who are acknowledged experts in their fields. Ideally, credible websites will provide enough biographical information about authors to verify their authority independently. Unreliable websites may not list any author or they may provide nothing more than informal information without any basis for establishing the expertise of the author.

3. Referenced Information

Credible websites usually provide a formal list of references for the information presented that includes traditional scholarly sources such as articles published in peer-reviewed academic and professional journals and periodicals. Those references should provide sufficient information to allow readers to locate those sources independently. Unreliable websites may provide no references at all or only very vague and imprecise assertions about where their information comes from without actually listing the sources.

4. Links to other Authoritative Sources

Credible websites typically provide numerous links to other authoritative websites and websites maintained by other organizations with whom they are affiliated. Unreliable websites are often stand-alone sites that do not link to any other sites maintained by any other organizations.