Policy
Brief
Accuracy
and Validity of Information
Executive
Summary:
Our
district has identified the need to
address the selection and use of internet resources in student work and
teacher
presentations. The use of internet
search engines and web-browsing for research has increased over the
past decade
becoming the primary resource for many students. Therefore,
there is a need to provide
educational opportunities for students to develop the skills necessary
to
properly and safely utilize the internet as a researching tool. This policy brief will identify the issues in
regards to the accuracy and validity of websites on the World Wide Web,
provide
guidelines and restrictions for the utilizing the internet in student
research,
and outline a plan of action for developing research skills in order to
prepare
students for college and the work force.
Overview
of Issues:
Accuracy
and Validity of the Internet: The
information
found on the World Wide Web has added a new dimension to student
research as
students are able to gather resources by simply copying and pasting
text and
images from the computer. However, since anyone can create a Web site,
there is
no filtering or evaluating system for determining the quality or
accuracy of
the information students find on the Web. Even though some Web sites
are
created and sponsored by subject experts; the majority of Web sites
found
during searches are created by non-experts and are unreliable (1). In addition, search engines systematically
update and delete their archives of web documents, which “erodes
the quality of
the information” found during searches (2).
Student
Research/Available Resources: Browsing Web
documents through major search
engines has become the primary research method for many students. Utilizing more reliable documents, such as
printed text found in books, periodicals, newspapers, and journals, is
not a
universally taught skill, and therefore, such resources are neglected
in
student research. The primary use of
websites for research can lead to unreliable and false information. As
students begin college and search for
jobs, there could be some serious consequences for gathering and using
invalid
or inaccurate information from websites.
There is a direct need for students
and teachers need to revisit research
methods that involve reliable sources as students learn skills for
determining
validity of information gathered via the internet.
Policy
Options:
There are
two proposed plans of actions for
addressing the student-use of internet resources for graded work.
OPTION
1:
Student use of internet researches for research and projects
will be
strictly limited to archive sites of scholarly articles, journals, and
periodicals. The district will purchase
a membership to a select group of archives that students can use from
school
computers in order to conduct research via the internet.
Use of websites found on basic search engines
will be prohibited for graded work.
OPTION
2:
Student use of internet resources will be prohibited as the
school will
use funds to improve the library resources and catalog system, as well
as,
subscribe to journals and periodicals that relate directly to the
assigned
research projects.
INTERNET
EDUCATION: Both options will require teachers to address
issues related to the accuracy and validity of internet resources
within their
classrooms. Skills covered will include:
o
Conducting
research/proper citation using school library resources (books,
newspapers, periodicals,
etc).
o
Utilizing
web-based archives and data-bases for finding professional articles,
periodicals, and ebooks for research.
o
Cross-referencing
content/resources used for research papers and projects.
o
Skills/tools
for determining the validity and accuracy of websites using the CARS
acronym
(see http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm for more
details).
References: