Neal-Schuman Authoritative Guide to Evaluating Information on the Internet (Neal Schuman Net-Guide Series)

Any Internet searcher knows that selecting quality information sites from the mass of misinformation, clutter, and distraction on the Net is a challenge. Searchers must navigate through vast amounts of information with varying accuracy, reliability, and usefulness. Now, Alison Cooke has developed an empirical method for eliminating misinformation and time-wasting sites from the selection process. Here is a detailed system of criteria and guidelines for evaluating and selecting information resources that works. This unique new guide shows how to: identify the purpose of a source; assess its coverage, authority, reputation, accuracy, currency, and accessibility; evaluate the presentation and arrangement of information, as well as ease of use; and how to compare a site with other similar sources. Detailed, field-tested criteria, assessment guidelines and easy reference checklists are designed to help Internet searchers evaluate organizational WWW sites, personal home pages, electronic journals, image-based and multimedia sources, Usenet Newsgroups and discussion lists, FTP archives, FAQ's, and much more.