Having fallen so in love with the new technology container that allows us to transmit information, we have forgotten about the contents of the container. Users should be aware before they start that vast numbers of information sites are worth very little to the researcher or educator. Because the information they contain is unreliable, out of date, inaccessible, poorly organized, or some combination of all of these. This column will attempt to provide users some quality signposts to look for when they are analyzing networked information. Most of these signposts have analogues to print resources, but a few are unique to the networked medium.
Content is the key, as the content of a site either makes it or breaks it.
There is nothing inherently wrong with creating or using pointer sites, but users should be aware of the difference between a site that primarily provides native content and one that functions as a pointer to other sites. In either case, the following questions should be answered at the site. This should be stated clearly at the site. In order to ascertain this, you might need to check other networked and non-networked sources. It should be stated at the site, but if it isn't, you must determine how broad and deep the content coverage is.