Internet Realities

Anyone can and will put anything up on the Internet

• Who is the author, what is their affiliation?
• How is the author qualified to write this page?
• How current is the information?
• Where did the information come from?
• What is the source of the page? an individual, organization, non-profit group?
• Who is the intended audience?

No one oversees what goes up on the Internet

• Is the information accurate? reliable?
• Is the information verifiable in another source?
• What is the reputation of the source?
• Are there apparent biases?
• Is there comparable information in standard print sources?

Garbage In, Garbage out

• Is the spelling correct?
• Do the links work?
• Is this the original information? Has it been altered? Intentionally?
• How recently has the page been revised? How up to date is the information?

Infotainment Rules

• Do the graphics get in the way of the information?
• Do the graphics add to the site or just dazzle?
• What's the purpose fo the site? To entertain, to inform, to explain, to persuade, to sell?
• Is the site easy to use?

Reality Filters

• What you see may not be all you can get (fee based services, special software, or hardware requirements)
• Instability of web locations
• Possibility of accidental or deliberate alteration of information
• Lines between advertising and information may be blurry
• Search engines may pull pages out of context

Common Sense Hints for Using Internet Resources

• Recognize the open forum nature of the Internet where anyone and any group can say anything they like.
• Know what you are looking for before you start searching. Ask yourself what type of information are you looking for? Factual, argumentative, opinion, statistical?
• Know what you are going to use the information for before you evaluate it.
• Take what you find on the Internet with a grain of salt, verify in other sources if you are not sure of the information.
• Always check the home page to see where you are.