WEEK SIX – Lecture
The concept of
the word “infinity” has always intrigued me – something without a beginning or
an end. The Internet, and therefore, the Web, is similar to an infinite spider-web.
It has no beginning and no end. The word metamorphic is also descriptive of the
Web. – It grows, and grows without any controls.
There is no
government, corporation or organization controlling what is put on the Web.
Granted, there are “cyber-cops” and some organizations attempting to censor
certain materials – but, there is no actual Superior Authority. The Internet’s
structure and lack of control is mind-boggling.
What this means
to you is that when you locate what you feel is a “terrific” site, with
earth-shattering information – take a deep breath – and think about what you
are reading, and try to analyze the source of the information.
You will find
hints – such as: a “designed by” or year, or corporation’s name at the bottom
of the page. Re-read the page to see if what you are reading is really
informative or is an advertisement – is it advocating a certain political,
religious, or legal position? Look at the construction of the URL.
Just as you
would not believe the news-worthiness of every headline in a newspaper you read
while on a check-out line at the supermarket, don’t be naive when reading a Web
page – even if it has beautiful graphics, it still may not be giving the whole
truth.
Later, we will
conduct some exercises where we will evaluate a couple of bogus Web pages, but,
for now, let’s talk about just finding the pages you will need for your class
project.
BUT – REMEMBER –
finding is not evaluating!!!
There is no
control over who and what is published on the Internet. Information from the
computer is not necessarily better than information from a book. Think about
whether:
Whether the information has
“literary” value. How plausible is it?
Was
the page created by an individual (with a motive), or an organization (with a
motive)?
Is
the source “respected”? And, even if respected, will anyone care? Is it
significant?
Is
it rhetoric, or will it enlighten?
Whether
there is an underlying advocacy behind the page? Have both sides of issues been
presented convincingly?
Is
it a “free” site, or has it been published by a well-known Corporation or
University?
Look
at the domain name (com), the URL (Universal Resource Locator), and the
reputation of the Site owner.
Surf
backwards to find the Web Host. Begin removing characters from the end of the
URL until you get to the domain name. New domains are constantly be added. Some
of the most common are:
.com (commercial) check for motive
.edu (education) can be substantive,
or just a student’s page
.org
(organization) may be advocating a position, or a non-profit agency
.net (network) usually commercial or
privately-owned
.gov (government) usually the most
dependable
EXAMINE WEB
PAGES FOR:
RELIABILITY: When considering the reliability of a
site, determine the intended audience,
the purpose of the site, assumptions or conclusions the author may be making,
and what the author has relied upon when making those assumptions and conclusions.
Then think about how this particular author compares to other writers on the
subject.
The information published by the
U.S. Government is usually reliable, but keep in mind that an underlying
purpose behind a web site published by a corporation may be to advertise its
products. Online or offline – not everything you see or hear is the truth. Just
because a web page looks beautiful, or has cute animations does not mean the
message it is giving is honest.
Remember,
.com means commercial and most companies and corporations have web pages in
order to sell you something.
COMPLETENESS:
Is the source primary (first person, original) or secondary (summaries
of primary sources)? How important is the Page to your individual needs? Is it really “on point,” or just an
interesting aside?
CURRENCY: How recently was the Page created? (The
date is usually found on the bottom of the Home Page.) Has the Page been
updated recently? (Try clicking “View” on the Netscape Menu Bar, then click
“Page Info.”)
MOTIVE: Once again, try to determine why the Page
was created.
Citing
Internet sources.
There are more
ways than one to properly cite to an Internet resource. Your choice will most
likely be determined by your instructor. Two of the most popular styles are presented
by the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Modern Language
Association (MLA).
See the
Pathfinders in the holder to the right of the Reference Desk on the main floor
of the Library, or go to the Library’s Home Page at http://www.lahc.cc.ca.us/library
for guidance on Research and Writing as well as organizing your citations on a
Works Cited or Bibliography page.
COPYRIGHT: The law of copyright gives protections
to authors of various types of works, including many of the sites accessed on
the World Wide Web.
A common
misconception is that the work must have been published in order to be
protected by the law. This is not so. Any original work, published or
unpublished, is protected by copyright.
Another
misconception is that works must carry the copyright mark to be protected. This
is also not true.
However, the
concept of “fair use” applies to students. Under this concept, students can use
a limited amount of copyrighted material for criticism, comment, scholarship,
or research purposes. In other words, students are permitted to quote portions
of copyrighted material in their research papers.
Look at:
http://www.freetranslation.com/ -
free translation of languages other than English.
You can review
some mailing lists at www.liszt.com;
or www.listserv.com. Or, do a
search for “mailing list”.
To find
newsgroups: do a search for “newsgroups”.
COPYRIGHT: http://www.eff.org/pub/Intellectual_property/ or the Copyright Website at http://www.benedict.com/ for more
information.
PLAGIARISM: is the theft of another person’s work
or ideas. Whenever possible – contact the author for permission.
See: http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/wts/plagiarism.html,
or http://alexia.lis.uiuc.edu/~janicke/plagiary.htm