In this post I should be valuing online sources, which for example I might be using when I'll write my theses... Well, to tell the truth I have never thought about it before! I agree with what it is written on the Essex university's tips because when I start a search on the web and find a page which seems to me interesting, I always check the author and the nation to which the pieces of information belong to. It is important to me if the webpage is related to academic or cultural organization: obviously they appear to be more reliable than others. Another tip on how I spot relevant pages is finding out if the sources offers a number of links to which I can refer to discover more about a subject. This might be really helpful, for generally the most important websites connected to a subject, are always linking one each other. Sometimes I judge webpages even from the point of view the layout: it is important for me the way in which a web site is structured, even more when for example I have access to it more than once. If it is uncomfortable to me, I usually leave it aside.
However to tell the truth, I believe that Internet might be a reliable source, when you have to deal with subjects that have been recently developped, when for example it is difficult to find information about them on specific books or reviews. In other cases many pages on the Internet report superficial, false or even wrong information. That's why we should pay attention, as many of our professors at the university tell to us, to what we can find on online sources.
Alice
However to tell the truth, I believe that Internet might be a reliable source, when you have to deal with subjects that have been recently developped, when for example it is difficult to find information about them on specific books or reviews. In other cases many pages on the Internet report superficial, false or even wrong information. That's why we should pay attention, as many of our professors at the university tell to us, to what we can find on online sources.
Alice
6 comments:
Hi Alice!
Finally! This is my first comment on one of your posts! Sorry, once again!
Yes, Internet is a very welcome source: it's easily accessible, fast, simple and so on; but we have to be very critical when using it. I agree with you that the mother tongue of a writer is extremely important. It's essential that we learn from native speakers, because otherwise we can make more harm then good to our English. I saw that you mentioned the structure and I definitely do the same as you. Bad layout is a synonym for a bad site.
Hi Alice.
Of course we need to be critical and very careful when we use Internet for research.
As Eva pointed out, it is important for us as language learners to read "mothertongue material", otherwise we could learn useless mistakes.
I agree with all the criteria you chose. In particular, links are very important. In my opinion when authors choose to put links to the same topic, they want to point out that the information is reliable and that you can find other sites that prove it or that add further useful notes about the same topic.
yes, we definetly need to be careful when using the net, but these criteria help us a lot in finding what we need.
Bye bye,
Federico.
Hi Alice! I see that you generally use the same criteria that I use for my researches so I cannot add to much. However, I noticed that you pay attention to links: I had never thought to this aspect but I admit that if a site contains a number of interesting links it is probably a well-done site! So thank you for your advice! You said another interesting thing: if we are looking for new topic we are almost obliged to use the Internet! It is true!! For this kind of topics there is much more on the Web than in any library!!
Bye
Hi Alice!
I must admit I’ve never thought about the criteria I use to evaluate online sources as well! Anyway, when I started thinking about what to write in my post I realized I knew what my criteria are. Like you, I appreciated the sites Sarah suggested. They’re very interesting. For example, they made me reflect on the importance of the audience, i.e. the aim of the website.
I saw you concentrate on the author of the websites, and also on the nation. I didn’t consider checking the author’s nation as a criterion. Anyway, I agree with you. If we have to write a paper or a thesis in English we should focus on English sites written or created by native speakers. That’s why I always check the domain of the sites. For example, if you carry out advanced searches you can look for websites whose domain is ‘.edu’ or '.ac.uk'. These domains are related to academic websites. I agree with what you wrote about links. They’re very important in order to find material dealing with the same subject.
You also said that checking layout of the sites is a good criterion. This is true! If a site is well-organized you can find interesting information very easily.
What do you think of rating? I think that a site or a book can be reliable if it has been highly rated by a reputable reviewer.
Here are some mistakes you made:
- if the sources offers a number --> if the sources offer a number
-are always linking one each other --> are always linking each other
-developped --> developed
I hope you'll appreciate my corrections!
See you!
Giovanna
Dear Alice,
I've just read your comment on my post and I saw you wrote about rating so you don't need to reply to my comment!
See you!
Giovanna
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