Why is it important for you to know how to evaluate Web resources?
Overview of Online Materials: The Internet
Overview of Online Materials: The Resources
Search Engines, Meta-Search Engines, and Subject-Based Search Engines
Things to Remember About Search Engines, Meta-Search Engines, and Subject Directories
Problems with Websites, Example 1
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Continued
Problems with Web Sites, Example 2
>> Internet Reliability
Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages
Criteria for Evaluation: Author or Webmaster
Criteria for Evaluation: The Author’s Point of View
Criteria for Evaluation: The Publisher
Criteria for Evaluation: Purpose
Criteria for Evaluation: Accuracy, Completeness, and Objectivity/Bias
Criteria for Evaluation: Accuracy
Criteria for Evaluation: Relevance
Criteria for Evaluation: Coverage
Criteria for Evaluation: Currency
Criteria for Evaluation: Visual Literacy
Criteria for Evaluation: Visual Literacy Continued
Most Internet users (81%) expect to find reliable health care information on the Internet.* If they treat everything they find uncritically, misinformation on the Internet can be a matter of life and death.
It's best to consult professionals for medical and legal advice. If you look for such information online, make sure that the author of the web site has the necessary credentials to give you accurate information (a bona fide medical or law degree), and that that person is legally certified to dispense advice where you live (i.e., is licensed to practice in your state).
As with any other information, use your common sense. Don't follow advice that you question; get a second opinion from a professional. If something sounds odd or wrong, it probably is. (E.g., The Doctors' Medical Library at https://archive.ph/COW7O states that injecting hydrogen peroxide can reduce cholesterol and generally serve an antibiotic function. Injecting hydrogen peroxide is actually a very dangerous thing to do.)
*Horrigan, John B. and Lee Rainie. Counting on the Internet. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2002. 2.
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