Evaluating the Future: A Preliminary Study of the Process of How Undergraduate Students Evaluate Web Sources

Abstract

In this article, Scholz‐Crane examines current practices among students in an entry‐level composition class. Students used in this study were divided into two groups. Each group was asked to read two separate Web documents. One group was asked to evaluate each site based on criteria supplied by Scholz‐Crane and then to comment on their overall conclusions about the validity of each site. The second group were asked to write essays detailing the criteria they would use to evaluate each Web site and then to draw conclusions about the validity of each site. The purpose of this preliminary study was to gain insight into how these students evaluate Web information and what implications this might have for teaching students to enhance their existing evaluation skills.

Making sense of credibility on the Web: Models for evaluating online information and recommendations for future research

“…Indeed, studies have found that users are seldom diligent in checking the accuracy of the information they obtain online (Flanagin & Metzger, 2000;Scholz-Crane, 1998). In a series of studies, Metzger and Flanagin examined the degree to which Internet consumers use each of the recommended criteria (i.e., accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage) to gauge the credibility of the information they found online.…”

“…Based on that, the literature identifies five criteria that users should employ in their assessments of the credibility of Internet-based information: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage or scope (see Alexander & Tate, 1999;Brandt, 1996;Fritch & Cromwell, 2001;Kapoun, 1998;Meola, 2004;Scholz-Crane, 1998;Smith, 1997).…”

“…Developing the skills to evaluate Web-based information, then, is crucial for Internet users; however, there is evidence that many people are unprepared for this responsibility and may have trouble determining how to assess the credibility of online information (Amsbary & Powell, 2003;Meola, 2004;Metzger, Flanagin, Eyal, et al, 2003;Scholz-Crane, 1998).…”

“…Another study using different research methodology similarly found that Internet users do not vigorously apply the five criteria in their judgments of information quality (Scholz-Crane, 1998). In this study, 21 college students evaluated two Web sites.…”

Worries with the Web: A Look at Student Use of Web Resources

“…Comparing criteria from both groups to standard evaluation criteria, she found that a checklist alone was insuffi cient to help students evaluate Web sites and, further, that students needed help in identifying components or elements of Web documents. 7 In an effort to increase effective use of the Internet for research, Anne F. Pierce used pre-and posttest scores to compare the performances of high school students. She found that, despite their high opin ions of their own abilities, students were quite unskilled in research techniques that effectively used Internet resources.…”