1 lesson 15 evaluating electronic information computer concepts basics 4 th edition wells

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Lesson 15Evaluating Electronic Information

Computer Concepts BASICS 4th Edition

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Wells Computer Concepts BASICS22

Objectives

Identify reasons for evaluating Internet resources

Identify criteria for evaluating electronic information

Describe software piracy Identify Internet resources Understand the rules of copyright

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Objectives (continued)

Identify false information, including hoaxes and urban legends

Cite Internet resources appropriately Explore other legal and ethical issues

concerning information students obtain from the Internet

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Vocabulary

copyright currency hoax identity theft

navigation patent plagiarism public domain

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Vocabulary (continued)

shareware software license software piracy

sponsored site trademark urban legends

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Criteria for Evaluating Electronic Resources

Anyone, anywhere, can put anything on the Internet

Determining Authorship: – A well-developed resource identifies its author– You can search the Internet to find out more

about the originator of information – The domain portion of the Web site address can

provide information, i.e. .gov is for government

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Criteria for Evaluating Electronic Resources (continued)

Relevance and Reliability: – Do not accept information presented on the

Internet at face value– Is the site trying to sell a product or service?– You can also check similar resources at the

school library Timely Content:

– Currency refers to the age of the information. – Check to see how often the site is updated

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Criteria for Evaluating Electronic Resources (continued)

Validity and Bias:– A site is valid if it is objective and unbiased – Check resources that contain similar information – Check for spelling and grammatical errors

Site Navigation:– Navigation is the ability to use links to move

through a site– All links should be: easy to identify, grouped

logically, and pertinent to the subject of the original page

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Types of Internet Resources

There is a vast array of electronic resources on the Internet including magazines, newspapers, journals, e-mail, blogs, and videos

Search Engines– Search engines are programs written to query

and retrieve information stored in a database– A sponsored site is a site that has paid the

search engine a fee in exchange for being listed in the "Sponsored Sites" section on many of their pages

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Wells Computer Concepts BASICS

Types of Internet Resources (continued)

Sponsored sites in a Google search for Web site evaluation

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Web Sites and Copyright Rules

Copyright is the exclusive right, granted by law for a certain number of years, to make and dispose of literary, musical, or artistic work

A trademark is similar to a copyright but relates specifically to visual or commercial images

Processes and business methods may be protected by patents

If copyright protection has lapsed, then the work is deemed to be in the public domain and is available for anyone to copy

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Software Piracy

Software piracy is the unauthorized copying of software

When a user purchases a software program, they are purchasing a software license to use the program

Shareware is software distributed on an honor system. – Most shareware is free for an evaluation period

but requires payment if you continue to use it beyond the evaluation period

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Citing Internet Resources

Internet resources used in reports must be cited

General guidelines for citing electronic sources can be found in:– MLA Handbook for Writer of Research Papers,

published by the Modern Language Association– The Chicago Manual of Style is another source

for this information

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Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and other False Information

A hoax is an attempt to deceive an audience into believing that something false is real

Urban legends are stories that at one time could have been partially true, but have grown from constant retelling into a mythical yarn

Warning signs of a virus include an e-mail that is:– A warning message about a virus– Wordy or in capital letters– Urges you to share the information – Describes the virus in technical terms– Comes with an attachment from an unknown source

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Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and other False Information (continued)

Hoaxes, myths, urban legends page

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Other Legal and Ethical Issues

Information obtained from an Internet site and claimed as one's own, even non-copyrighted information, is plagiarism

If you publish information about another person and it is not true, you can be sued

Identity theft is when criminals gather personal information, acquire credit, and conduct transactions using false identities

Pranks and hoaxes may not be against the law, but they can still cause harm to innocent people

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Evaluation Survey

You can use the information in this lesson to construct a survey to evaluate electronic resources

Survey form

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Summary

In this lesson, you learned: The criteria for evaluating Internet resources include

authorship, content, copyright information, navigation, and quality.

The Internet contains various types of resources, including electronic journals, magazines, newspapers, Web sites, and e-mail messages.

Internet publications and Web site content can claim the same legal protection as books, newspapers, CDs, movies, and other forms that are protected by copyright law.

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Summary (continued)

You must cite any information that you use from the Internet. The MLA style is widely used for citing electronic resources.

Internet hoaxes, urban legends, and false information continue to increase because of the Internet.

Using the Internet introduces legal and ethical issues such as plagiarism, which is copying information from another source and claiming it is your own, even if the information is not copyrighted. Another growing problem is identity theft, which occurs when criminals gather personal information, acquire credit, and conduct transactions using false identities.

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1 lesson 15 evaluating electronic information computer concepts basics 4 th edition wells

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