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CAD2203 - Data - Engineering Design Concepts

When you locate sources to use in your research, you need to be sure that you're using the best information to support your topic. This page will provide tools to evaluate the relevancy and accuracy of your sources and information.

Evaluating all sources

Checking for signs of bias

  • Does the author or publisher endorse political or religious views that could affect objectivity?
  • Is the author or publisher associated with a special-interest group, such as Greenpeace or the National Rifle Association, that might present only one side of an issue?
  • Are alternative views presented and addressed? How fairly does the author treat opposing views?
  • Does the author’s language show signs of bias?

Assessing an argument

  • What is the author’s central claim or thesis?
  • How does the author support this claim—with relevant and sufficient evidence or with just a few anecdotes or emotional examples?
  • Are statistics consistent with those you encounter in other sources? Have they been used fairly? Does the author explain where the statistics come from? (It is possible to “lie” with statistics by using them selectively or by omitting mathematical details.)
  • Are any of the author’s assumptions questionable?
  • Does the author consider opposing arguments and refute them persuasively?
  • Does the author fall prey to any logical fallacies?


Evaluating Web sources

Authorship

  • Does the Web site or document have an author? You may need to do some clicking and scrolling to find the author’s name. If you have landed directly on an internal page of a site, for example, you may need to navigate to the home page or find an “about this site” link to learn the name of the author.
  • If there is an author, can you tell whether he or she is knowledgeable and credible? When the author’s qualifications aren’t listed on the site itself, look for links to the author’s home page, which may provide evidence of his or her interests and expertise.

Sponsorship

  • Who, if anyone, sponsors the site? The sponsor of a site is often named and described on the home page.
  • What does the URL tell you? The domain name extension often indicates the type of group hosting the site: commercial (.com), educational (.edu), nonprofit (.org), governmental (.gov), military (.mil), or network (.net). URLs may also indicate a country of origin: .uk (United Kingdom) or .jp (Japan), for instance.

Purpose and audience

  • Why was the site created: To argue a position? To sell a product? To inform readers?
  • Who is the site’s intended audience?

Currency

  • How current is the site? Check for the date of publication or the latest update, often located at the bottom of the home page or at the beginning or end of an internal page.
  • How current are the site’s links? If many of the links no longer work, the site may be too dated for your purposes.

Hacker, Diana and Barbara Fister. Research and Documentation.  Bedford / St. Martin's, 2011.  Web. 19 November 2012.

The domain of a website indicates the type of entity responsible for creating and maintaining the site. The domain can be found in the site's URL and is always preceded by a .  Below is a list of possible domain names.  Click the info button to find things to consider when evaluating these sites.

.com 
Maintained by commercial entities. Consider the motive of the site's creators as they are likely selling or promoting their product. While this information may be accurate, it may also be presented in a biased light or it may exclude information that could potentially harm their commercial interests.

.edu

Maintained by educational institutions ranging from elementary through college. These are generally reliable sources, particularly if they are maintained by a college or university department or research center. However, be weary of personal student websites which may be hosted under a .edu domain but are not necessarily reviewed by the institution.

.gov

Maintained by various areas of the federal government and can generally be trusted. These are particularly useful for statistical inforamtion such as census or employment data as well as legal information such as Congressional hearings and Supreme Court rulings

.il.us

Maintained by various branches of the Illinois state government. This would also apply to any of the other 50 states such as wi.us, in.us, mi.us, etc. State sources are generally reliable and are particularly useful for state governement information such as state tax or health department information as well as websites hosted by individual towns or municipalities.

.org

Most commonly maintained by non-profit organizations which are usually credible, unbiased sources. However, be weary of non-profit organizations that strongly advocate specific points of view such as many lobby or activist organizations. While these organizations may provide credible information, be sure to check that this information is supported by cited sources and that you have evaluated all sides of this issue in other sources. Be sure to consider whether this organization is supported by commercial interests which may introduce bias.

.net

This is a generic domain name that was originally intended for network technology groups but has come to encompass commercial and individual interests as well. These sources should always be closely evaluated.

Common English-Speaking Country Domains

In order to determine information on the web is credible and usable for course work, take time to evaluate the who, what, and when. Use the information on the Who, What, and When tabs to help determine if a web source is credible and usable for your research.

  • Is there a named author?
  • Is there information about their background?
  • Is the author qualified to write abut the subject?
  • Does the author cite or list other sources on the information?
  • What organization or group is responsible for the web site?
  • Is there information about the submission process for the content on the web site?
  • Can anyone publish on the web site?
  • What audience is the web site targeting?
  • Is the organization of the web site logical and credible?
  • Is recent information on the subject required?
  • Is it clear when the web site was last updated? If so, how recently?
  • Are the facts consistent with other recent resourcs?

The checklist below provides a structured method to test the credibility of any website. Use this when evaluating the credibility of web resources and determining whether or not to use the resources in an assignment. If you need additional tips, check out the Digging Deeper resource.