Not getting caught in the web: Credible sources on the web - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Not getting caught in the web: Credible sources on the web

Megan Lowe, Coordinator of Public ServicesSlide2

Session Overview

Survey of Current AttitudesHow Do You Feel About Web + Research?Evaluating Websites

A Selection of Credible Websites…and how to find more!Q & AFeedbackHow Do Feel About Web + Research NOW?Slide3

Survey of Attitudes - Before

Do you currently allow students to use Internet resources in research assignments?If no, why not?

If yes, are there any restrictions?As in: no Wikipedia, no .coms, etc.?Do you already have a list of sites you permit?

Do you have to approve Internet resources?

Or can they use anything, as long as they document correctly?

Do you use the Internet for research?Slide4

Students and the Internet

Most of us don’t trust students to use the Internet because the students DON’TRecognize the

importance of authorityCritically assess resources for scholarlinessUnderstand the

research process

Realize the

dangers inherent to the Internet

Understand bias and the

need for objectivity

Comprehend the

provenance of ideas and conceptsSlide5

You and Your Students

I’m not going to tell you that you should let your students use the Internet for research

I’m here to equip you with resources so you can equip your students as you see fit

There are

two ways

to approach equipping your students with regard to using the Internet for research, if you are inclined to do soSlide6

Students and the Internet: Way #1

The method you use really depends on how much confidence you have in your students – and that might change semester to semester, or even class to class in a given semester

If you have a group of students you have confidence in, then one approach would be to let them use the Internet,

provided they carefully evaluate the websites they encounterSlide7

Way #1: Evaluating Websites

There is a simplified list of criteria that students can use to assess websites

These criteria are based on features inherent to what we would recognize as

scholarly resources

But they are generalized to account for the

gray areas

that occur in resources on the Web,

since publishing on the Web isn’t regulated in a meaningful way

(beyond legally speaking)Slide8

Evaluating Websites: Criteria

Accuracy – is the information verifiable in other, independent resources?

Authority – what are the credentials of the author(s) or organization(s)?Coverage – how in-depth is the resource? What is its scope?

Currency

– how old is the information itself? How old is the resource?

Objectivity

– is there an obvious bias involved?Slide9

Students and the Internet: Way #2

If you do not trust a group of students to effectively evaluate websites, then it may be easier to simply restrict them to certain resources

The next section of this presentation will cover several sites where students can find scholarly informationThe sites either serve as

portals to info

or

provide info directlySlide10

Way #2: Portals to Info

Portals don’t produce the info themselves; they usually serve as aggregators, providing organized lists of resources

Some of the best are created by institutions of higher learning, professional organizations, and even librarians (not that I am biased or anything)

Often times, one

doesn’t have to go far

to find

good portals for websitesSlide11

Portals to Info: Close to Home

All of the full-time reference librarians at ULM have created subject guides for the departments they serve as liaisons

They have vetted the resources they’ve listed on their sites, so you know

you can trust them

These subject guides can be

accessed from the Library’s home page

or through the

individual pages of the librariansSlide12
Slide13

These subject guides are not standardized; they don’t all contain the same information or look the same.

But all of them contain websites that have been vetted by the librarian responsible for the guide.

The Pharmacy/Health Sciences listing is separate.

http://www.ulm.edu/library/subjectguide.htmlSlide14

Keep scrolling – every department is covered!Slide15
Slide16

Most of these are either created by or associated with universities or libraries.Slide17

Portals to Info: The BUBL

The BUBL describes itself as “an Internet-based information service for the UK higher education community

”As of April 2011 it is no longer being updated unfortunately, but it will be maintained

It covers

all academic subject areas

using

the Dewey Decimal System

It was created and is maintained by the

Centre for Digital Library Research

of

University of

Strathclyde

-GlasgowSlide18

http://bubl.ac.uk/Slide19

ipl2: Information You Can Trust

ipl2 is the result of the merger of the Internet Public Library and the Librarians’ Internet IndexIt is hosted by Drexel University’s College of Information Science & Technology

A consortium of colleges and universities with information science programs comprise the entity responsible for developing and maintaining ipl2Slide20

http://www.ipl.org/Slide21

Voice of the Shuttle: VoS

VoS began in 1994 as a static collection of links and has evolved into

a searchable database of resourcesIt covers all academic subject areas (and then some!)

It is also a

wonderful resource for faculty and scholars in general

, offering links to resources on academia, conferences, and related concerns

It is affiliated with the

University of California, Santa Barbara, English DepartmentSlide22

http://vos.ucsb.edu/Slide23

Aggregators: Similar to Databases

Technically, the portals themselves are also aggregators, in the sense that they

pull together multiple resources for the researcherBut the resources we’re about to see don’t list resources like the portals – the user simply inputs keywords, and

the resources return results, like a database or an Internet search engine

…AND the results are

scholarly

, and oftentimes

periodical articles

NOT websitesSlide24

Google Scholar

Google Scholar is a specialized Google search engine that focuses on

scholarly documents (NOT sites)It features books and periodical articles

There’s no guarantee of full-text for a result, but it does clearly

display when full-text is available

It even indicates when a result is from a database like JSTOR, and

if the searcher has valid access to the database, it’ll link the searcher to the articleSlide25

http://scholar.google.com/Slide26

INFOMINE

Infomine calls itself “a virtual library of Internet resources relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level

”It was built and is maintained by librarians from a variety of universities and colleges from around the nationIt draws from “

databases, electronic journals, electronic books, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library card catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and many other types of information

”

http://infomine.ucr.edu/Slide27

http://infomine.ucr.edu/Slide28

Something a Little Different: DOAJ

DOAJ, or the Directory of Open Access Journals, serves as portal to vetted scholarly (peer-reviewed), open-access journals

It covers all disciplinesIt’s all

FREE

, though some journals may require you to create an account (which is also free) for access

It updates constantly

, as new journals are added

Many of them are

in English or offer English translations

of their contents

http://www.doaj.org/Slide29
Slide30

Something Else: Open J-Gate

Open J-Gate is like the DOAJ:

it has similar aims and goals, is global, and updated every day¾ of their journals are peer-reviewed, scholarly journals

; they offer professional/industry journals, which toe the scholarly line

It indexes “

8959 open access journals, with links to full text

”

It offers

article-level searching and subject-browsing

http://www.openj-gate.comSlide31

http://www.openj-gate.com/Slide32

The White Elephant: Wikipedia

Wikipedia is simultaneously

one of the most useful tools I’ve ever encountered and one of the most frustrating

It has its

uses in the context of research

, but in an

indirect way

Wikipedia

content is good for a crash course

in basic concepts, ideas, biographies, etc. –

getting acquainted with the basics

The

real treasures

of Wikipedia are the

notes, references, and external linksSlide33

Good for a crash course, but it’s not a replacement for a real understanding of the topic. But this can help students quickly

orient themselves contextually.

Many of these are legitimate websites, and they are linked and ready for access. Where they aren’t available on the web, researchers can still get references to look up, such as the books.

Several of these are from Ole Miss, Facts on File, or other respectable .org sites.

More references researchers can check against library holdings or request through Interlibrary Loan.

Many of these are legitimate websites, and they are linked and ready for access. Where they aren’t available on the web, researchers can still get references to look up, such as the books.

Several of these are from Ole Miss, scholarly journals, and other .

edu

sites.Slide34

Final Comments on Wikipedia

If you let your students use Wikipedia, be clear –

say they can use it to get to resources via notes, references, and external links, but not the content itself

Wikipedia is also good for connecting researchers with public domain documents

, including often-studied literary, historical, and scientific textsSlide35

Final Comments on Wikipedia

And let me be clear: I’m NOT saying you should let your students use Wikipedia…

But I think there are ought to be a more universal attitude with regards to whether it should be allowed, at least within departments

Students get

mixed messages

when one professor says it’s okay to use, and another say it’s not, and then others take the indirect approachSlide36

Q & ASlide37

Survey of Attitudes - After

Will you feel more comfortable about letting students use the Internet for research now?

If no, what doubts or concerns remain?If yes, on what terms?With evaluation frameworkList of permitted websites

Must approve sites

Will this session affect how you do research on the Internet?Slide38

Not Getting Caught in the Web

Presentation URL

http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe/crediblewebsites.pptxSites Mentioned in This PresentationThe BUBL - http://bubl.ac.uk/

ipl2: Information You Can Trust -

http://www.ipl.org/

Voice of the Shuttle -

http://vos.ucsb.edu/

Infomine -

http://infomine.ucr.edu/

Directory of Open Access Journals -

http://www.doaj.org/

Open J-Gate -

http://www.openj-gate.com

My Contact

http://www.ulm.edu/~lowe

lowe@ulm.edu

Slide39

If the reference librarians can help you in any way, please don’t hesitate to call on us!

Thanks for Attending!