March 9 Assignment - Blog 2 - Evaluating the Search Results

Since anyone can post information to the Web, it is important to be able to assess the credibility of the results you receive from a search.  To determine the credibility of the of the results you receive from a search, there are four specific areas of the site which should be evaluated.   These are:  Authority, Objectivity, Scope and Quality, Design and Functionality.   To assess "authority" you must determine the quality of the information being presented.  You should find out who sponsors the web site, who wrote the page content, if possible, and whether they have the requisite expertise to represent themselves as an authority on the topic.  The highest quality information comes from a primary source document, item or other data that provides first hand information about the subject matter.   For example, a primary source can be a scholar writing about a subject matter he/she is an expert in.   One word of caution, however, when you are searching educational pages, you must be aware that some of the documents can be written by students and not necessarily scholars.   This is where it is very important to know who wrote the document.  

Objectivity of the web site is important as well.   You must determine whether there is any bias in the web site content or whether it is written to sell you a product or service.  One way to determine the objectivity is to look on the web site for links with reputable domain names that link to Web sites with related information.  

Scope and quality of the web site is important as well.   The content of the site should be accurate and up-to-date.   You can search other web sites that present similar information to gain a better understanding of the topic as a way to determine the accuracy of the information being presented by the site.  You can do this by comparing the information between the sites to see whether there is consistency and whether any of the sites are produced by a recognized authority.  I think that being proficient in multiple search engines would help with this process.  

Design and functionality is also a big tip as to the credibility of the web site.   If the site contains many spelling errors or has links that are no longer functional, it's likely that the site is not a high-quality site.  You should look for a site that looks professional and where all links are working properly.

Also, you should consider how you were led to the site.  Below is an example of an inbound email leading me to a site that offers home based work opportunities.   I'm always suspicious of these!!

Here is the site this email link led me to: 

In summary, if you want to use information that you gather from Internet sources, it is essential that you evaluate the quality of the content of the web sites that you access for information.   In the example posted above, you cannot determine who is the author of the site or what the product or service the site is offering.   Once I entered my email, this is where the link took me: 

This is a site for a home-based business where you can teach people how to get their cell phone service for free!    Unlikely!    This is an example of how important it is to know the authority of the site.