Blog Reflection #7

I think the most important thing when using an Internet resource for your information, is to verify your source. You need to be able to authenticate as much as you can: the site, the author, the host of the page or site, etc. You should check to see if it is factual or opinion or even propaganda, with a bias or agenda. You can check the date of the page or site to see if it is current. The best way I have found to verify if it is a reliable source, other than going through a search site like lii or a librarian referred website, is to look at the url address of the site you are visiting.  Look for domain names like .edu, which is an educational institution, .gov, which is a government agency, .mil, which is a military organization, .org, which is an organization, or the name of a university listing their initials. These are your most valuable sites for information. Sites with .com, a commercial organization or a business or .net, a network resource or a person’s name might be more of an opinion with possible bias and may not be exactly correct in their information. 

If I was to recommend suggested sites to use, I would say that lii.org is one of the best sites to search first, here you are given multiple sites to search that have been verified by librarians as trusted Internet resources. Next I would say the Government sponsored sites (.gov) to help you track down sites or links to specific information ob various topics, including statistical facts, Subscription research databases once you have an idea of what you want to research, or ProQuest or electronic journal or newspaper indexes. Like the research databases, this is a good place to look for articles written by verified authors and often peer reviewed and verifiable. Encyclopedia.com is a great resource to quickly and correctly answer a general question you might have and then direct you further for more in-depth information. Encyclopedia Brittanica.com is also a great resource, but not a free site like the previous Encyclopedia.com. The last idea I would give in the order of Internet reference sources is to use your favorite search engine to look for your information, just keep in mind to pay attention to the url address. Look at the domain names and try to verify the source. In my personal opinion, I would not recommend wikipedia for any information. I only say this because the information contained on their pages can be user entered and not verified. You can go on the site and edit the information there and add to it. You can basically make up anything and it will be there for others to believe as fact. This is not the kind of “information” you want to use as fact. You do not want to accept untrue facts and pass them on believing they are true.  The easiest way to find information would be the last (wikipedia) but is is also the least reputable or reliable. If you do a little digging with some good direction, you can find exactly the right information, knowing it is 100% accurate.