Criticism of the sources
Scientific documents that you find through the common search engines are mixed with commercials and personal opinions on the Internet. How do I know that the information I have found is useful? How do I check who has published the information and its origin? In the following text you will find some advice for criticism of the sources.
What is the URL of the web page?
Here you can often see if the page was made by a university, a company or a private person.
The top domain is the highest level in the Internet domain system, i.e. in a web or e-mail address, and is written in the form of a code. The part that is at the very right in a domain name is the top domain. This states either official authority, organization, special area of use or a certain nation. For example www.who.org has the top domain .ORG. Swedish web sites have .se for top domain.
| Examples of general top domains: | Examples of country domains are: |
| .com – commercial | .de – Germany |
| .coop – cooperative | .dk – Denmark |
| .edu – education | .dm – Dominica |
| .fi – Finland | |
| .gov – US government | .fr – France |
| .info – information | .no – Norway |
| .int – internat. organizations | .ru – Russia |
| .name – private persons | .se – Sweden |
| .uk – United Kingdom | |
| .org – other organisations | .us – United States |
| .pro – professionals | .nu – Niue |
Who made it?
Are there any references in the background information about the creator of the web site? Check if it is possible to contact the institution or person behind the page. Does the originator know much about the subject which is discussed on the web page? Can you find previous publications from the same person? Is it is a well-known name in the field? Never trust an anonymous web page!
If you can not find information about the origin of a web site, this is a useful piece of advice:
It is not uncommon for unreliable people or organizations to try to spread their message in the light of a serious organization or authority. You need to be observant when you come across pages where the content is not what you expect it to be. Many web sites have addresses that can only be told apart from the original by the top domain of the address. Compare for example the following web sites:
One of the web sites below belongs to the White House while the other offers information on education.
www.whitehouse.gov
www.whitehouse.com
On one of these addresses you will find the official website of the World Trade Organisation.
www.gatt.org
www.wto.org
How old is the web page?
Information can become outdated quickly. Because of this it is important to see how old it is. Are the contents and the links of the webpage updated continuously? Does it matter if the material on the web page is old? Historical information does not age as quickly as medical information.
Is the material on the web page fact or advertisement?
Corporate pages often contain facts as well as advertisements. You need to be observant about what are facts and what is advertisement.
What is the appearance of the web page?
Is it clear and structured? Are the links updated? Is the language polite and proofread?
Does the contents of the page match your need?
Is the material found on the web page relevant for your studies?
Is there a list of works cited and references?
Is it clear what sources the page is based on? Are statements supported with references for up to date and relevant literature?
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Anne-Marie Pettersson
2010-02-08
