ICYouSee: T is for Thinking

ICYouSee:
T is for Thinking

Never be afraid to sit awhile and think. -- Lorraine Hansberry

A Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web

For fun and games and pretty pictures, the Web is fine.

But is the Web a good research tool?

The answer is a qualified yes, and only if you are careful.

Using the Web well takes more than just knowing how to google. To use the Web wisely and efficiently, I offer for your consideration the following six suggestions when examining Web pages:

1) Make sure you are in the right place.

2) When in doubt, doubt.

3) Consider the source.

4) Know what's happening.

5) Look at details.

6) Distinguish Web pages from pages found on the Web.

In addition to these six suggestions about evaluating sources, here are some criteria that are commonly used.

  • Authority: Who are the authors of the Web page, or who is responsible for it? What gives them their authority or expertise to write?
  • Accuracy: Do you have good reason to believe that the information on the site is accurate? Are the facts documented?
  • Objectivity: What is the author's point of view? What is the purpose of the site?
  • Currency: When was the information on the page originally written? Has the site been kept up-to-date?
  • Coverage: Does this site address the topic you are researching? Is the information basic and cursory or detailed and scholarly? However complex the language might be, is the information substantial?
  • Value: Was the page worth visiting? Does the site offer anything informative, unique, or insightful? Is the site free of careless errors, misspelled words, and poor grammar?

To review, there is a quiz and one more st*p*d assignment.

Instructors: There are four exercises to choose from, Mayan Calendar, The Sixties, Eggs and Cholesterol, and The Oil Crisis. I hereby grant permission for you to use or adapt the assignments. I only request that you let me know. For Martin Luther King Day, there is a special exercise.

Some final words.

Now in its second decade on the Web, ICYouSee: T is for Thinking is the creation of John R. Henderson, a reference librarian at the Ithaca College Library.
First created: November 1994
Last updated on January 16, 2008