LIB 204 Final Project

7/31/2019 LIB 204 Final Project

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Online Resources

Evaluating online sources of

information, some of the good

ones, and how to use them.



Evaluating sources

When looking at online sources of

information, consider the following:

• Scope – what & how much info is covered?• Quality of content

• Accuracy of content

• Currency – is the information up to date?

• Authority of author, publisher, website, etc.

– Are the info providers reputable & trusted?



Evaluating sources (cont.)

When looking at online sources of

information, consider the following:

• Usability, search capabilities, and responsetime

• Arrangement of material – does the source

have an organized, easy-to-use layout?

• Appropriateness to audience – is the source

right for your information needs?



Some good sources to know about...

• www.ipl2.org-Informa1onyoucantrust

• www.refdesk.com-FactCheckerfortheInternet

• TheCIAWorldFactbook-

hps://www.cia.gov/library/publica1ons/the-

world-factbook/-Informa1ononallofthecountriesaroundtheworld.



www.ipl2.org

• ipl2 is “a public service organization and a

learning/teaching environment.”

• Brings together and categorizes informationsources from across the Internet

• Hosted by Drexel University’s College of

Information Science & Technology(http://www.ischool.drexel.edu/)



www.ipl2.org

Howtouseipl2.org• Exampleques1on:“Whataresomefamoussayingsor

wri1ngsofthephilosopherFriedrichNietzsche?”

1.)Go to the

ipl2.org

homepage,

and click on

“Resources bySubject”



www.ipl2.org

2.)

Next, look under

the heading “Arts

& Humanities,”

and click on thesub-heading

“Philosophy.”



www.ipl2.org

3.)

On the next

page, scroll

down

until you see

a listing that

seems

suitable, such

as “The

Perspectives

of Nietzsche”and click on

the link.



www.ipl2.org

4.)

View the

website to

read and

learn aboutthe famous

German

philosopher.



www.refdesk.com

• The three main goals of refdesk:

1. Fast access

2. Intuitive and easy navigation

3. Comprehensive content, rationally indexed

• A one-stop site to find many different typesof information on lots of subjects

• Sets evaluation standards for includedreference sources (http://www.refdesk.com/criteria.html)



www.refdesk.com

How to use refdesk.com• You want to find general information on the Hubble

Telescope (the one that takes the cool space photos)

1.)

To start, goto the

refdesk

homepage.



www.refdesk.com

2.)

Scroll down to

the near-

bottom of the

home page.

Under theheading

“Refdesk

Subject

Categories,”

click on the

“Space/

Astronomy

sub-heading/

link.



www.refdesk.com

3.) Scroll down the Space/Astrology page until you get to theG-I Section. You will then see several links on the Hubble

Space Telescope. Click on the “Hubble Space Telescope

Home Page.”



www.refdesk.com

4.) View amazing photos and learn about the history of

the Hubble telescope and other space discoveries.



CIA World Factbook

• Provides information on the history, people,

government, economy, geography,

communications, transportation, military, and

transnational issues for 267 world entities.

• Includes maps (physical geography and

political), flags of the world, and country

comparisons



CIA World Factbook

1.)

Go to the

home page

for the CIA

World

Factbook.https://

www.cia.gov

/library/

publications/

the-world-

factbook/

index.html



CIA World Factbook

How to use the CIA World Factbook• You want to find out about the climate of Costa

Rica; you might be taking a trip there soon.

2.)

From the“Select a

Country or

Region”

drop-down

menu, findand select

Costa Rica

from the list.



CIA World Factbook

3.)

On the

Costa Rica

information

page, select

and expandthe

“Geography

section.



CIA World Factbook

4.a.)

We can see

that the

climate in

Costa Rica

is tropical &subtropical,

with a dry

season

from Dec.-

Apr., and a

rainy

season

from May-

Nov.4.b.) The terrain consist of coastal plains

separated by rugged mountains, including

over 100 volcanic cones.



Summary/Conclusion

When searching and using online resources:

• Verify the quality of the information; if it

seems questionable and does not list/citesources, do not use the source.

• Use appropriate sources for the task at hand.

• Make sure the information is up to date and

current.



Some reputable online sources you can trust...

– www.ipl2.org

– www.refdesk.com

– www.infoplease.com – www.usa.gov/

– https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

– http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/

pages/index.xhtml

LIB 204 Final Project

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