Evaluation of Information Sources

[Music] [Music] welcome back in this session we will examine the evaluation of information sources it has got two parts the first part deals with the criteria for the evaluation of print sources and the second part will deal with the criteria for the evaluation of digital resources there is need for evaluation evaluation of a reference sources in a library context means assessing the value of the source according to the requirements of the library based on users level of education for any library the process of evaluation is very important to develop the need based best collection it helps to assess the value or evaluate the quality of a particular source and also its suitability for inclusion in the library collection depending upon the readership of the library various approaches have been suggested by different authors like cats Smith's and gates a prominent author Gary Gorman he has made a comprehensive overview of the area and he cites other authors providing very detailed guidance for evaluating materials out of these he offers a more manageable set of six criteria which can be concisely expressed as a staffs formula a stem stands for a authority of creators yes scope tea treatment and level a arrangement F format and special considerations and yes special features now let us examine each one of them in detail first of all let us take authority this is perhaps the major criterion in evaluating information source the authority of the source can be judged from there of the author or the editor or compiler and publisher the following questions can be asked in this regard say first is the author identified or EC famous in his own area then second is the author well-known and well regarded in the field third what are the author's credentials fourth who is the publisher is it a university press a commercial publisher a trade association the government or is it self-published all of you know that University process are reputed for the quality of the work and therefore these questions tell you about something which about the quality of the published material then the second aspect scope and purpose authors or editors usually state the scope and purpose of the reference source either in the preface or the introduction if you go through the preface or the introduction you will get an idea of what is the scope of the work from the discrete description the suitability of the book for the user can be easily assess the reference source should follow a definite plan it should also be ensured that the plan is followed consistently that is throughout the work it should be complete in its coverage there should be a balance in the selection of topics the questions to be asked in this context are 1 what is the purpose of the document to has this purpose been fulfilled in the work 3 what is the coverage of the document and 4 is there consistency in the planning of the documents if the answers to these questions are satisfactory then devote can be treated as a ideal work then the third criterion that is treatment the style and level of treatment of the subject is of prime importance from the users point of view similarly the accuracy objectivity and clarity should also be checked the information provided about facts persons places etc should be authentic label and complete it is also important to check whether there is any bias in the treatment of the subject in other words it should be ensured that the author has maintained objectivity throughout the documents the questions to be asked in this context are does the work follow a loose its time are the information covered in the work or accurate and up to date then third is the treatment of the subject objective and free from bias now let us pass on to the fourth criterion that is arrangement the order of the contents or the arrangement of the information provided should be quite convenient to the users to consult so that the required information can be located or accessed expeditiously with utmost ease for this purpose that information is usually arranged either alphabetically chronologically geographically are in a classified order depending upon the nature of the information given usually the alphabetical order follows either letter by letter or word by word pattern in order to facilitate easy access different types of indexes are also provided with sufficient number of cross references you might have seen in books different types of indices like other indexes subject indexes etc now the questions to be asked here are one is the arrangement helpful for easy location of the information then two is there sir number of indexes if there are sufficient number of indexes okay the work can be readily accepted in the library now let us pass on to the next criterion that is formats the format includes the physical features of the document like layout quality of paper used typography illustrations maps charts and nature of binding the layout and size of the document should be attractive and convenient to handle the paper used should be durable because of the likelihood of the frequent use of reference books all of you know that reference books are constantly consulted and therefore the paper is of good quality the illustrations maps diagrams etc should be attractive and well laid out so that the users can comprehend the information without difficulty the questions to be asked here one is the paper used is of good quality two are the typefaces our fonts used are attractive then three are the illustrations tables and diagrams are clear and attractive ok now the next criterion that is special features the special features include the distinctive features which make the documents more acceptable they include the marked differences from the works of similar nature additional information like use of more appendices comprehensive bibliographies revision policy to make the source current etcetera say for example as far as reference sources are concerned revision policy is of utmost important because in order to make it current the sources have to be revised periodically the questions to be asked here are 1 what are the distinctive features of the work then 2 what value-added information is there three are the bibliographies useful and current and four what is the revision policy of the documents now in addition to these various authors have dealt with the criteria of evaluating reference sources the famous author cats William Katz has converged on the following criteria they are one purpose-- Authority scope for audience cost format etc since most of these have already been dealt with I am NOT going into the details of each the distinct one distinctive feature here is the cost as all of you know cost is of utmost important if two things are equal then the cost consideration is taken care of in the selection of documents in addition to the above list many authors have suggested different criteria like accuracy currency and objectivity also for the evaluation of the sources and these criteria have to be strictly adhered to for the selection of documents in a library as you know reference sources are very costly and therefore one has to pay more attention for the diligent application of these criteria now let us pass on to the criteria for the evaluation of digital resources the world wide web www. oxnardhyundai. com is the ability for people to express themselves find one another exchange ideas discover possible peers worldwide they never would have otherwise met and through hypertext links in web pages suggest so many other people's ideas and personalities to anyone who comes and clicks herein lies the rationale for evaluating carefully whatever is available on the web the burden is on the reader to establish the validity authorship timeliness and integrity of what you find in the Internet in the general World Wide Web there are no editors unlike most printed publications to proofread and send it back or reject it until it meets the standards of a publishing houses reputation all these things are strictly adhered to in a publishers form but this is not there in the Internet's most pages found in general search engines for the web are self-published are published by businesses with motives to get the users to buy something are believed a point of view therefore if the users want to use it for serials in such need to cultivate the habit of healthy skepticism that is healthy evaluation of the documents or questioning everything found with critical thinking answers to the following questions are helpful in deciding the suitability of the digital information contained in websites now question number one what is the site's domain think of this as decoding the URL or Internet address the origination of the site can provide indications of the site's mission or purpose the most common domains are dot o-r-g that is an advocacy website such as not-for-profit organisation dot-com a business or commercial site dotnet aside from an to work organization or an Internet service provider dot e-d-u a site affiliated with a higher education institution dot govt that's a federal government site dot IL u.

s. state government sites this may also include public public schools and community colleges then dot UK UK stands for United Kingdom a site originating in another country as indicated by the two letter code second question what is the authority of the page look for information on the author of the site just like in the case of a printed book here also you have to look for the author who has created the pages in the Internet anyone can pose as an authority say the question should be posed up is the author's name visible does the author have an affiliation with an organization or institution does the author list his or her credentials are they relevant to the information presented is there a mailing address or telephone number included as well as email address then there is some reliability for that then is the information accurate and objective there are no standards are controls and the accuracy of information available why are the internet the Internet can be used by anyone as I have already indicated as a sounding board for their thoughts and opinions then here you have to worry about how accurate is the information presented are sources of factual information are statistics cited then if these sources are cited you can be sure that that is reliable is there a bibliography included that also points to the reliability of the information compare the page to related sources electronic or print for assistance in determining accuracy that means that don't be carried away by the sheer fact that something is mentioned in the internet and don't misconstrue it as correct so you have to tally it with other sources of information does the page exhibit a particular point of view or bias is the site objective is there a reason the site is presenting a particular point of view on a topic that means you have to be very critical in determining whether there is subjectivity in the presentation of information then that's the page contain advertising this may impact the content of the information included look carefully to see if there is a relationship between the advertising and the content or whether the advertising is simply providing financial support for the page this is very important while you are going through the internet sites sometimes you know some useful information may be there but it will be loaded with the advertisements of the supporting firm then for is the page current this is both an indicator of the timeliness of the information and whether or not the page is actively maintained is the information provided current when was the page created are dates included for the last update or modifications of the page are the links current and functional and then the fifth Krait set of criteria does the page function well the functionality of the page is very important the ease of use of a site and its ability to help you locate information you are looking for are examples of the site's functionality then the questions to be asked here are is the site easy to navigate are options to return to the home page top sub pages etc provided then is the site searchable does the site include a sitemap or index then here in addition to this I've examined a number of library sites especially library sites of American universities which provide clear current clear-cut criteria for the evaluation of digital resources here you can see the evaluation checklist provided by the University of California Berkeley library as follows say the questions they put forward are what can that URL tell you who wrote this page is he or she or the authoring institution a qualified Authority is it dated current and timely is information cited authentic dense the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source what is the bias then could the page or site be ironic like a satire or F spoof if you have questions are reservations how can you satisfy them if the website clearly answers these questions and if only you are convinced then only you have to consider it as a reliable site then another example is is that of Georgetown University Library that site their site discusses the issue in greater detail and you can refer to HTTP WW dot like Georgetown dot edu slash tutorials slash research guides evaluating internet content that is the title it will be worthwhile to go through the site on your own because that is very well-written and almost all the criteria are explained in ample detail now let us summarize the session various approaches have been suggested by different authorities like cats Smiths and gates gary-oke garments comprehensive overview of this area sites other authors providing very detailed guidance for evaluating materials out of them he offers a more manageable set of six criteria which can be concisely expressed as a staffs formula stamps stand for authority scope treatment arrangement format and special features cats on the other hand cats all of you know is an authority on information sources has put forward purpose Authority scope audience cost and format the criteria adopted for the evaluation of digital resources are besides the mine name authority of the webpage accuracy and objectivity of the information currency of the information functionality of the site bias of the information and techniques adopted for satisfying the queries before we attend the next session try to attempt the given assignments what are the points to be remembered while evaluating the print resources what are the main criteria used for the evaluation of Eire resources our electronic resources reference information services and introduction by K and castle and uma pyramids second student guide to research in the digital age how to locate and evaluate information sources by Leslie F Stebbins publisher is library's unlimited third one evaluating print versus Internet sources this is taken from the website of the Purdue University online Writing Lab and the site address is HTTP slash o WL thought English dot Purdue dot edu slash o WL / resource next one also is taken from the website and the title of the site is evaluating information resources it is retrieved from University of Alaska Fairbanks elmer e Rasmuson library and the site address is HTTP colon double slash library dot u AF dot edu slash elias 1:01 elevation next one is also a website evaluation and selection of learning resources a guide and this is retrieved from HTTP colon double slash www. ge.

com DD underscore es L R underscore zero 8. 30 a. m.