The Good
The good news is that many sources of authoritative research information now publish on the
Internet.
In the academic world it is considered very important that new research builds upon past
research and that the quality of information is assured. There are formal processes to
facilitate this, and it's essential you understand these if you are to succeed at university.
Some of the information sources that are traditionally used to support academic research
can include...
1: Peer review/refereeing
2: Scholarly Journals
3: Electronic Journals
4: Library eJournal Services
5: eJournal Publishers
6: ePrints
7: Academic Web Directory
8: Library Web Sites
The Bad
The bad news is that the Internet also leads to a lot of information that is completely
inappropriate for your research, and it takes time and skill to weed this out.
As things stand the Internet has no standard system of quality control so it's important
to be careful about which information you use and not to trust everything you read.
Think about it - the Internet links millions of computers:
And leave it there as long as they like - even if it goes out of date
There is a danger that the information you find on the Internet will:
The Ugly
At worst the Internet can lead you to misinformation that could land you in real trouble.
Unfortunately there are a lot of sharks on the Internet - people who want to trick you,
misinform you, deceive you and defraud you. Some web sites and emails can be real crime
scenes.
Be skeptical, not paranoid!
This activity will highlight some classic cases of misinformation on the Internet:
Internet hoaxes,
o click on the link to See an example spoof
What are the URLs of the sites used for this example?
http://www.gatt.org/
https://www.wto.org/
Record some observations comparing the Official site with the Spoof
-Goes Against the real one is saying, trying to get discredit the WTO
-Different
What are the URLs of the sites used for this example?
http://www.whirledbank.org/
http://www.worldbank.org/
Record some observations comparing the Official site with the Parody
It has opinions against the actual website and uses the URL to attract people to it and
then teach/show the opinions about it.
Urban legends
o What is an Urban Legend?
Fake stories or rumors spread online
o Click on the link See some examples of urban legends
o
o Click on the link See some examples of scams
Hate Sites
o What is a hate site?
www.Loser.com
http://www.martinlutherking.org/
When using the Internet as a source of information and research remember to consider.
WHO?
WHAT?
Are the arguments and conclusions valid i.e. well founded in logic or truth?
Does the author back up any claims with reliable third-party support (i.e. citations,
references, research data and source material?
Is the information accurate: or can you spot errors (i.e. typographical errors or
broken links).
Is the coverage sufficient? Does it include all the aspects of the subject that you
need in enough breadth or depth?
Is the level of the site appropriate? Does it treat the subject at the level you require
or is it an introductory guide that is too basic?
Is it fact or opinion?
Are there advertisements everywhere - that might make you question the motives of
the online publication?
WHERE?
Where am I? Where is this site located- in which country and on who's computer?
How did I get here? Did I reach this site from an authoritative source?
Am I in the middle of a site or at the front page? Is this the most relevant part of
the site for me to be using?