Contemporary Chinese Fiction and Film (EALC 319/519/790): Web Resources

Intro. to research materials for Chinese fiction and film of the second half of the twentieth century. Students will learn the modern Chinese-speaking world through the mediation of literature and film.

Web Resources

Evaluating Internet Resources (by Georgetown University Library)

Questions to ask:

Author

  • Is the name of the author or creator on the page?
  • Are his/her credentials listed (occupation, years of experience, position or education)?
  • Is the author qualified to write on the given topic? Why?
  • Is there contact information, such as an email address, somewhere on the page?
  • Is there a link to a homepage?
  • If the author is with an organization, what kind of organization is it?
  • What does the domain name/URL says about the source of the information?
  • If the owner is not identified, what can you tell about the origin of the site from the address?

Purpose

  • Who is the intended audience?
  • Scholarly audience or experts?
  • General public or novices?
  • If not stated, what do you think is the purpose of the site? Is the purpose to: Inform or Teach?  Explain or Enlighten? Persuade?  Sell a Product?

Objectivity

  • Is the information covered fact, opinion, or propaganda?
  • Is the author's point-of-view objective and impartial?
  • Is the language free of emotion-rousing words and bias?
  • Is the author affiliated with an organization?
  • Does the author's affiliation with an institution or organization appear to bias the information?
  • Does the content of the page have the official approval of the institution, organization, or company? 

Accuracy

  • Are the sources for factual information clearly listed so that the information can be verified?
  • Is it clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material?
  • Can you verify any of the information in independent sources or from your own knowledge?
  • Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
  • Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?

Reliability and Credibility

  • Why should anyone believe information from this site?
  • Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it unsupported by evidence?
  • Are quotes and other strong assertions backed by sources that you could check through other means?
  • What institution (company, government, university, etc.) supports this informatio?
  • Is there a non-Web equivalent of this material that would provide a way of verifying its legitimacy?

Currency

  • If timeliness of the information is important, is it kept up-to-date?
  • Is there an indication of when the site was last updated?

Links

  • Are links related to the topic and useful to the purpose of the site?
  • Are links still current, or have they become dead ends?
  • What kinds of sources are linked?
  • Are the links evaluated or annotated in any way?

Conclusion

  • Be very critical of any information you find on the Web and carefully examine each site.
  • Print out or download pages you plan to use in your research so that your bibliography will be complete and accurate.
  • Web pages are susceptible to both accidental and deliberate alteration, and may move or disappear with no notice.

 

(from Georgetown University Librariy website at http://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content)