Critical Thinking and the Internet

While the variable quality of Internet resources complicates the research process, the Internet can also function as a rich source of raw material for critical thinking. The following links are suggested sources for teaching critical thinking as well as for demonstrating the importance and complexity of evaluating Internet resources.

Selected Bibliography: Organized by Broad Disciplines

1) URLs: What's in an address?

Web addresses can provide clues for the reliability of information. For example, the .edu domain is generally assumed to be reliable, while .com is seen as commercial and less reliable. However, many exceptions exist. Examples:

• Washington International University
  • http://www.washint.edu/
  • example of a diploma mill that uses the .edu domain
• Meghan Cawley’s web page
  • http://www.bc.edu/~cawleyme/
  • .edu domain using tilde to designate a student's home page
• Jitendra Malik
  • http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~malik/
  • .edu domain using tilde to designate a university professor's home page
• Web of Science
  • http://portal.isiknowledge.com/
  • .com used by a database vendor
• Psych Central
  • http://psychcentral.com/
  • .com used for a non-profit Web site produced by a psychologist
• Technical University of Moldova
  • http://www.utm.md/
  • .md used for a site located in Moldova
• Retina Consultants of Southwest Florida
  • http://www.eye.md/
  • .md used for a site located outside Moldova

2) Dates: When was it written or updated?

Always check to see when information was written and if it was recently updated; however, dates may not accurately reflect the content.

• UBC Humanists' Society
  • http://www.ams.ubc.ca/clubs/humanist/
  • last updated 2000
• Endangered Species
  • http://agham.asti.dost.gov.ph/5th/inside/science/article.html
  • no date on page
• Age of the Dinosaurs
  • http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/prehistoric_life/dinosaurs/
  • only date on page is today's (changes daily)
• Epinions.com
  • http://www.epinions.com/trvl-Transportation-Airlines-All-Canada
  • recent date; old information (lists Canadian Airlines, which merged with Air Canada in 2000)
• Search the Internet (Central Florida Library Cooperative)
  • http://cflc.net/search.htm
  • recent date; old information (links to outdated sites, such as Magellan and Deja.com)
• The Aran Islands, by J.M. Synge
  • http://www.classicreader.com/book/3340/
  • http://www.readprint.com/work-5820/The-Aran-Islands-J-M-Synge
  • http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/readfile?fk_files=1299104
  • http://sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/tai/index.htm
  • Many sites have the full text of this book, but not many give the original date of publication: 1907

3) Authority: Can we trust the source?

To be trusted, documents on the web should state their authors. An expert in one area may not be an expert in another. However, many non-experts create valuable web sites.

• Wind Power
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
  • like all articles in Wikipedia, this is written by an anonymous author or authors
• Henry James scholar's Guide to Web Sites
  • http://www2.newpaltz.edu/~hathawar/cutting/
  • expertise on Henry James vs expertise on Web (see in particular the outdated information in "Searching the Web")
• On-line Diabetes Resources
  • http://www.mendosa.com/faq.htm
  • comprehensive site produced by a non-expert. (Listed on Librarians' Index to the Internet: www.lii.org)
• Aloe Vera: A Scientific Approach
  • http://www.aloevera.co.uk/rhdavis.htm
  • authority of book author vs authority of publisher (vanity press) vs authority of reviewer. Note that this is from a commercial site.

4) Publisher: Where did the information originate? Who is making it available?

On the Web, many sites copy information from each other, making it a challenge to track down the original source of information.

• Gramsci and the U.S. Body Politic
  • a) http://www.ucmpage.org/articles/aluzarraga.html
  • no source listed. Provided by: The Unofficial Confessing Movement
  • b) http://www.futurodecuba.org/Gramsci%20And%20The%20U.S.%20Body%20Politic.htm
  • no source listed. Provided by http://www.futurodecuba.org/

5) Pseudoscience

Much pseudoscience exists on the web, making it essential to verify information before using it.

• Energy Machine of Joseph Newman
  • http://www.josephnewman.com/ 
• Stock Market Astrology
  • http://www.citystats.co.uk/
• Face on Mars
  • http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/cydonia/proof_files/proof.asp

6) Advertorials and Infomercials: News and Commercials Blur

It is often challenging to tell the difference between news stories and advertising on the web. Some sites label their advertisements, others do not.

• President's Advertorial (New Jersey Hospital Association)
  • http://www.njha.com/press/whatpresident.aspx
  • clearly marked as advertorial
• Capturing and Saving the World
  • http://www.salon.com/partner/sony/eco_odyssey/index.html
  • see note near top: "feature by Sony advertising series" (note advertisements for Sony at right)
• Advertorials darken the horizon for online journalism
  • http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story206.html
  • about advertorials

7) Accuracy of Citations: "Best Place to live in America"

A search on the phrase "best place to live in America" pulls up a variety of pages. Some cite the source of this tribute, others do not.

• Raleigh, North Carolina
  • http://www.che.ncsu.edu/dept_info/raleigh.html
  • incomplete citation (publication only)
• Madison, WI
  • http://www.athomein.com/
  • incomplete citation (publication only)
• Plymouth, MN
  • http://www2.ci.plymouth.mn.us
  • full citation (publication and date)

8) Sites to Compare and Contrast

A) Sites by Academics

• Kimball's Biology Pages
  • http://biology-pages.info
  • Biology resources provided by a biologist.
• Home Page of Arthur R. Butz
  • http://pubweb.northwestern.edu/~abutz/
  • An engineer who is also a holocaust denier.

B) Periodicals: Journal or Magazine or?

Check "Call for Papers" or "Writer's Guidelines" to determine if publication is peer reviewed.

• Bright Lights
  • http://brightlightsfilm.com
• Screening the Past
  • http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/
• Radius Psi Magazine
  • http://www.matela.iig.pl/en_index.html

C) Real or Hoax?

• World Trade Organization
  • http://www.gatt.org/
• World Trade Organization
  • http://www.wto.org/
• Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division
  • http://www.dhmo.org/
• Something in the Dihydrogen Monoxide
  • http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,1176710,00.html

D) Science Reporting

• Therapeutic effects of oral NADH on the symptoms of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome
  • http://www.immunesupport.com/news/nadh_study.htm
  • Reprint of a journal article.
• NADH: a new therapeutic approach in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
  • http://www.nadh.com/fatigue/Cfs205.htm
  • Claims to be a reprint of the above article, but includes additions under "Objective" and "Results" to emphasize the product being sold.

E) Pseudoscience

• ESP (extrasensory perception)
  • http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/e/esp_extrasensory_perception.html
• New Analyses Raise Doubts About Replicability of ESP Findings
  • http://www.csicop.org/si/9911/lilienfeld.html

F) Alternative Medicine

• Thought field therapy: The Case of Mary
  • http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/T039.html
• Debunking Thought Field Therapy
  • http://www.geocities.com/pseudoscience_2000/

G) Herbal Medicine

Very different information about the substance ephedra, as provided by commercial sites and by the National Institutes of Health.

• Superdrine RX 10 with Ephedra
  • http://www.worldclassnutrition.com/superdrine.html
• Ephedra (Herbal Information Center)
  • http://www.kcweb.com/herb/ephedra.htm
• NCCAM Consumer Advisory on Ephedra

  • http://nccam.nih.gov/news/alerts/ephedra/consumeradvisory.htm

H) Nutrition

• The Truth about Coconut Oil
  • http://www.thaifoodandtravel.com/features/cocgood.html
• Tropical Oils
  • http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4779

I) Labour Rights

• Nike Campaign
  • http://www.globalexchange.org/economy/corporations/nike/index.html
• Nikebiz.com: Workers in Contract Factories
  • http://www.nike.com/nikebiz/gc/r/fy04/docs/workers_factories.pdf

J) Advertising

• Youth Tobacco Prevention: from Reynolds American
  • http://www.reynoldsamerican.com/Responsibility/Youth.aspx
• Poll Survey of R.J. Reynolds
  • http://whyquit.com/ads/RJR.html
  • sample advertisements and links to documents about court rulings

K) Propaganda

• Institute for Historical Review
  • http://www.ihr.org/
• Holocaust Denial: Institute for Historical Review
  • http://www.adl.org/poisoning_web/ihr.asp

L) Conspiracy Theories

• Citizens for Truth about the Kennedy Assassination
  • http://www.ctka.net/home.html
• The Kennedy Assassination
  • http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/home.htm

M) Search Engines vs Subject Directories

• Google
  • http://www.google.com
• BUBL LINK
  • http://bubl.ac.uk/link/
  • compare searching in Google vs browsing in BUBL. Sample terms: sport, jazz, advertising, pottery, aging (ageing), pediatrics (paediatrics). The last two demonstrate differences between North American and British spelling.

For a discussion of some of the above resources, see:
Wills, D. (2002). Critical thinking and instruction: exploiting the possibilities of the Internet.  PNLA Quarterly, 67(1): 11-13, 32. Selected Bibliography: Organized by Broad Disciplines

Prepared by
Deborah Wills
Reference/Collections Librarian
Wilfrid Laurier University Library

Originally prepared for the Ontario Library Association Superconference, January 2002.