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Evaluating Coverage in
Web Resources
Questions to
ask:
How old is the information the page is based upon?
Is the information provided relevant to your information need?
What are the dates covered by the site?
If there is a print edition of the work, do the different formats offer the
same content?
What are the content limitations of the site?
Does it cover a specific aspect of a topic? A specific geographic area? Only
men or only women?
Is there an indication that the page is completed and not "under
construction"?
Resources to use:
- Look on the page itself for copyright and/or last updated dates. The site
will provide (hopefully) most of the answers to the questions above.
- Check
ALiCat
to
see if our library has a book on the same topic.
So What?
Just as when you use a book, you need
appropriate information from your resource. You wouldn't use a kindergarten
book in your Biology 101 bibliography, and you shouldn't use a fan web site
for a critical review of a work of literature.
Example:
The
Catholic
Encyclopedia is available online and in print. The New
Catholic Encyclopedia [Ref BX 841 .N44] ranges in copyright dates from
1967 to 1989. The online
Catholic
Encyclopedia has a copyright date of 2004, but the material is from
the 1908 and 1913 editions.
Return to Evaluating Web Resources
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Augustana College