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Title:
A Guide To Finding Quality Information On The Internet: Selection And Evaluation Strategies. 2nd Edition
Review:
As the Internet grows, so too does the multitude of books claiming to help us find our way through the maze. It's fair to say that many such books are merely lists of URLs and offer little else. This book is different. Written by a leading authority on the evaluation of Internet-based information, it throws a lifejacket to Internet users who feel they're drowning in information and offers practical advice. Cooke aims to assist anyone using the Internet to find high quality information, promising to help them to filter out the inaccurate, questionable and just plain useless information to reveal the real gems of information we all know are there somewhere, if we could just find them.
The book is based on empirical research undertaken by Cooke as reported in the first edition. Given the pace of change in the Internet world, this new edition is fully revised and considers new and growing areas. New and expanded sections appear, on virtual libraries and searching. In summary, the book covers:
- using search facilities effectively to improve information retrieval
- assessing the quality of an information source
- evaluating particular types of Internet-based sources of information
- using checklists, kitemarks and other indicators of quality.
It's safe to say this book will be invaluable to librarians and information professionals who constantly warn their users against accepting at face value all they read and see on the Internet. This book is full of useful tips for looking critically at Internet-based information and will inspire librarians in their training. But not wishing to judge a book by its publisher, I'm sure this is a handy source of help for researchers or indeed anyone involved in building a web site or using the Internet regularly.
The highlight of the book is a series of checklists to use when looking at Internet-based information, whether a web site or a mailing list or a search engine. Cooke refers frequently to the health information sector in which, as you can imagine, quality is paramount. Health professionals using the Internet often complain of information overload and many GPs have commented on "Internet printout syndrome", referring to the huge pile of printouts from web sites, brought along by many patients. The first edition of this book was warmly welcomed but the second edition could be considered even more timely as increasing numbers of the population are accessing the Internet.
Cooke's style of writing makes for a readable book and interesting read with plenty of screen dumps and graphics to illustrate points. My one criticism is that the book is a little detailed for the average Internet user and is perhaps better suited to information and IT professionals, who may wish to cascade this approach to their user base/customers.
The key message of the book is to be vigilant on the Internet and this book offers some real solutions to the reader. Given the ease of publishing on the Internet, we've all come across the occasional obviously dubious site (a site advertising shark cartilage as a cure for cancer is just one of the examples given by Cooke) but how many sites have we found that we're just not sure about? This book helps us to find the answer!
Free Pint Reviewer:
Alison Turner, Knowledge Manager, National electronic Library for Health, NHS Information Authority. Alison joined the National electronic Library for Health <http://www.nelh.nhs.uk> earlier this year, having previously managed the library service at Gloucestershire Royal NHS Trust. Alison has worked in the field of health information for seven years. Her current role within the National electronic Library for Health involves drawing together quality-assured content specifically for health professionals. The overall aim of the National electronic Library for Health is to make information about effectiveness of care readily available to NHS staff, using Internet and associated technologies.
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