McGraw-Hill Public Speaking

• Locating and evaluating resources
• Locating online resources
• Special considerations for evaluating online resources
• Locating library resources
• General guidelines for evaluating resources
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Although the criteria for evaluating online resources are the same as the criteria for evaluating printed material, some areas deserve special attention. Certain problems, such as dubious authorship, are more likely to occur with online documents. Click one of the categories listed below or scroll down the page for additional information.

Authorship
Sponsorship
Coverage
Accuracy
Currency

Authorship

Identify the author. There are several places to check for authorship information.

1. Check the bottom of the page for copyright information.
   
   
2. Check the home page of the site for copyright information or a link to a page about the author.
   
   
3. Check for author information in the meta tags of the source document. Many web authors include author and sponsor information in a portion of the page that does not display. If you're unfamiliar with viewing source documents, use the following instructions to find it.
   
   

To find author information in a source document:

1. In your browser's view options, find the option to view the page or document source. Select it to view the html file.
   Note: The source file contains the information that your browser uses to format the page as well as the content of the page. Browser commands, called tags, appear between angle brackets (<>).
   
   
2. Locate the header section of the source. The header section begins with a </head> tag.
   
   
3. Within the head section, which may be quite lengthy, you may find a <META> tag. Author information is only one type of information stored in a meta tag. The format will be similar to the following:
   <meta name="GENERATOR" content="Application name" name="KEYWORDS" content="several words related to topic" AUTHOR="name of individual or organization" >
   The generator specifies the html editor used to develop the page, the keywords section contains words used by some search engines to locate pages when a user does a search, the author section contains either the name of an individual author or a sponsoring organization.
   
   

If you cannot locate author information, the site should have a well-known sponsor. Otherwise, it is not suitable as a source. If you do locate author information, consider the credential of the author.

Consider the credentials of the author. Anyone can write and publish a web page. You should only use information written by credible sources. Look for some of the following indicators:

• Degrees, affiliation with a university or reputable organization
  
  
• References to the author as an expert in the work of others
  
  
• Links to the page from several reputable sources
  
  
• References by the author to reputable sources
  
  

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Sponsorship

Identify the sponsoring organization. Different organizations sponsor web sites. Standards exist for naming web servers and domains according to the location and type of organization. The web address is known as an Uniform Resource Locator or URL.

The URL identifies transfer protocol, server name, domain name, and directory information. Some sections contain valuable clues to the identity of the sponsoring organization.

Server names are often company or organization names. Some server names include the www prefix, but that is not required when registering a server/domain name.

Domain names identify either the country or organization type within a company.

Look for signs of organizational bias. Try to determine the organization's motives in providing the web site. Many organizations have an About Us or a Mission Statement link accessible from their home page. In some cases, it is very easy to determine a company's position on a subject, such as the American Cancer Society's position on smoking. If you're unsure about an organization, check out how they identify themselves. Or, do a search on the organization name and find out what other sources say about it. Is the organization selling a related product? Are they trying to push legislative changes on your issue? Is it an informational site to promote goodwill?

Watch out for personal pages. Sites sponsored byknown organizations, may host their employees', students' or subscribers' personal pages. Although hosting sites have rules for publication, personal pages are not usually edited and reviewed for accuracy.Learn to recognize personal pages and avoid using them as sources.

Clues in the domain name:

geocities addresses
hometown.aol addresses

Clues in the directory path:

a tilde(~) preceding a directory name
/user/ in the pathname
/personal/ in the pathname

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Coverage

Analyze level of detail and scope of coverage

Material designed for online presentation often provides less coverage. The typical computer screen displays only one-third as much information as a standard size typed page.

The online format affects the content found on many sites.

1. Early user studies showed that people were reluctant to scroll either vertically or horizontally to view online information. Even though users have become more comfortable with pages that require vertical scrolling, they still resist horizontal scrolling. Online information designers responded to this information by "chunking" information into smaller pieces for online delivery. Some organizations impose a standard on their web designers that pages will "fit" horizontally on a 15" monitor at a standard resolution with no horizontal scrolling and limited (2 to 3 screens) of vertical scrolling.
   
   
2. Even the best monitors offer resolution that is less than that of printed documents. People’s eyes tire more quickly when they are reading online than when they read documents on paper. Designers use larger font sizes for online information than typically used in printed materials. They also use bulleted lists, short tables, and graphic elements to relieve visual fatigue. While these techniques solve viewing problems, they also reduce page content.
   
   
3. Navigation elements (browser toolbars, advertising banners, and within-site links) further reduce the content area of each web page.
   
   
4. Finally, users will only follow two or three links unless the link descriptions provide enough information to convince the user that he or she is on the "right track." The belief that users will only follow a few links before leaving a site has also led to sites that are both narrow (few links per page) and shallow (page links go no more than two are three levels deep) in the number of pages they contain.
   
   

The end result? Many websites cover topics superficially. Often, you’ll find the same main points listed at several sites, but none of them will contain supporting material.

Content clues in the site structure. You don’t need to check every page on a web site to figure out whether the site adequately covers your subject. You should be able to find enough indicators on the top-level pages to anticipate the site content.

Most professional sites organize information in three areas of the screen. A toolbar across the top of the page indicates the major divisions within the site. The buttons or labels used to move between the divisions usually require little explanation. Along the left side of the screen, you’ll find a set of links to items within the currently selected category. A link label should contain enough information to give you an idea of where you'll end up if you click on it. If you try two or three links with unexpected results, the site may be poorly organized.

At the top levels of a site, it is common to find links in bulleted lists that provide access to other pages. The primary purpose of these pages is to help you get to the content. An information-rich site usually contains descriptive headings that indicate what you'll find at lower levels. When you click the link, you should feel a step closer to your target.

Select links that take you to lower levels of the site (links in the leftside column). As you progress to the lower levels, you should find that the content area of the pages contains more paragraphs of text than bulleted lists. Often, you'll find the bulleted lists are main points with no supporting detail. While such sites may provide an interesting overview or ideas for the main points of your speech, they don't provide adequate coverage for a research project.

Web versions of printed documents. Some of the most information-rich sites provide access to longer documents previously published in paper format. You'll see clues such as "web version of article . . ." or "previously published" noted on the web page. When you select the page, it may look like a table of contents. Links on the "table" take you to main sections of the document.

PDF documents. Another common method of distributing substantive material is through PDF files. You'll see instructions to "click here to download PDF version . . ." PDF stands for portable document format. Your machine must be equipped with the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view a PDF file. Portable document format allows organizations to convert lengthy documents from word processing, graphics, database and spreadsheet packages into something that can be viewed by most graphics-enabled browsers. Organizations use this method for several reasons:

1. It is expensive to convert a long, detailed document to numerous web pages.
   
   
2. PDF files allow for faster distribution of time-sensitive material (official records, conference proceedings).
   
   
3. Printed PDF files retain the pagination and formatting of the original document from which they are produced. Because of the length and detail, the organization anticipates that the document will be printed rather than read online.
   
   

References cited. Check for a bibliography, sources, or works cited page. If you find one, check whether it includes only links to other web sites, or if it includes printed materials as well. (Sources may also be cited at the bottom of individual pages.)

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Accuracy

Research methods. Check for a detailed description of research methods. Scientific or pedagogical studies should be supported by appropriate research methods.

Up-to-date links. Check that online resources listed as sources lead to active sites. Most links referenced on a page should be active. Active links indicate that the author of the site has chosen links carefully. They also indicate a site that is monitored and maintained.

Verifiable sources. Both online and printed sources should be verifiable. Attempt to follow links listed as resources When broken links are found, note whether they are broken links commonly found on similar websites or uncommon links. Uncommon broken links probably indicate that the author has relied on unstable sources. If too many broken links or untraceable printed sources are cited, do not use the site as one of your sources.

Source stability. Web pages are easily added, moved, changed, and deleted. The page you reference today may not be on the web tomorrow, or may be in a different location. Web authors are less likely to move or delete a page that is popular. Try to use sources that you find in the link lists at several other sites. Organizations, government entities, and academic institutions tend to set up long-term sites. If a source contains information vital to supporting your main points, print out a copy of important pages.

Resource variety. The source should contain references to printed materials as well as links to online resources. Not only does this show a wider coverage of the topic, it indicates that claims made in the document have probably been verified in more than one source.

Currency

Currency refers to how up-to-date a source is. Check the creation and update dates of the file. Most organizations list a copyright date on the the bottom of each page. Some are more specific and include the last date the file was updated. Use sources with current dates (usually no more than two years old). If you are giving a speech on a rapidly changing field, sources should be even more recent (within the past six months).

Check the currency of sources used by sources that you want to include.If the most recent information the source references is five years old, it is not current. You may feel it is necessary to include or accept a resource that uses older documents that represent a milestone in the subject area. For example, a speech on the problem of encouraging minorities to vote might cite historical documents on the Voter Rights Act of 1965. However, current sources are needed to look at the status of the issue today.

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