Searching for Reliable Information on the Internet: Tips for Success
Presented at the African Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Conference: Prosperity Through Empowerment, February 4-7, 2003, Johannesburg South Africa by Karen Hartman, Information Resource Officer, Embassy of the United States, Pretoria, South Africa and Selaelo Ramoleta, Information Resource Center Director, Consulate-General of the United States, Johannesburg, South Africa.
1. Explore a directory or virtual library
- These tools rely on people to organize Web resources into subject categories
- Virtual libraries contain highly selective, evaluated resources
- Contain links to specialized databases, reference works, and subject guides
- Usually organized by professional librarian
- Collaborative in nature; the public can recommend sites to be included
Some directories:
- Open Directory Project http://dmoz.org
- Yahoo! http://www.yahoo.com
Some virtual libraries:
- Digital Librarian http://www.digital-librarian.com
- Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org
- Internet Scout Project http://scout.wisc.edu
- Librarians’ Index to the Internet http://lii.org
Example: Find general and evaluated resources, including some databases, which discuss women’s sexual and reproductive health rights.
Browse a directory
- Go to the Open Directory Project http://dmoz.org
- Click on Society—>Women—>Women’s Health—>Reproductive
- Notice that there is another category listed in the See also: section—Health: Reproductive Health.
- Click on this category.
- Several sites are listed: one in particular looks appropriate – The Global Reproductive Health Forum http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/grhf/. This site is published by Harvard University.
Search a virtual library
- Go to the Librarians’ Index to the Internet http://lii.org
- Type women’s health in the search form, click on search (keep your search simple).
- Click on Women’s Human Rights Resources http://www.law-lib.utoronto.ca/diana/.
- Then click on Women’s Human Rights Resources Database.
- You can select a subject category to look through, or search by keyword. Note that there are scholarly articles, books, and other resources indexed here. You could search by keyword Africa to narrow the list of results.
2. Use a search engine
- Each search engine creates a database by using computer programs called spiders or robots to gather Web pages.
- The pages are indexed.
- Software enables user to query the index, returning results in order, ranked by relevance, popularity, usefulness, and so forth.
- Search engines require knowledge of search techniques/features to guarantee good results.
- Remember to read the search engine’s help pages!
Some search engines:
- AltaVista http://altavista.com
- Google http://www.google.com
- All the Web http://alltheweb.com
3. Using a search engine requires you to evaluate the information you find
- Look for the author’s name on the Web page (usually at the top or bottom).
- Cut off the URL back to the domain if you’re unsure of where the page originates.
- See Understanding and Decoding URLs http://www.library.jhu.edu/elp/useit/evaluate/url.html.
- Determine who funded/published the page or site.
- Who is the audience? What is the purpose of the page or site?
Example: Find information on the topic of Christianity and women’s rights.
- Go to Google http://www.google.com
- Type christianity “women’s rights” in the search form. (No need to type “and” between the terms.)
- Note the first resource listed: Questions about women’s rights in the Bible: http://www.answering-christianity.com/q_w_rights.htm.
- Evaluate the site by cutting off the end of the URL back to the domain: http://www.answering-christianity.com and asking the questions stated above.
- Limit the search to higher education Web sites by clicking on Advanced Search.
- Type .edu in the domain section, and search again.
- Note the higher quality of results.
- Go back to the original search and choose Groups to read discussion group messages.
- Click on News for the latest information on the topic from news sources all over the world.
WOMEN’S ISSUES WEB SITES
Developing World
http://www.caa.org.au/publications/iid/TWW/index.html
Community Aid Abroad: Third World Women (Oxfam)—discusses work, health, education, violence, and other issues.
http://www.kalibooks.com/
Kali for Women (India)—women's publishing house concerned with increasing the body of knowledge on women in the Third World and providing a forum for women writers.
http://www.nau.edu/~wst/access/third/thirdsub.html
Northern Arizona University–Third World Studies—articles, books, and reference materials about third world women.
http://www.focusintl.com/widnet.htm
Women in Development Network (WIDNET)—promotes networking on issues pertaining to gender and development.
Economic Empowerment
http://www.enterweb.org/women.htm
Enterprise Development Website
Women and Enterprise Development
http://www.gdrc.org/icm/
Global Development Research Center
Virtual Library on Microcredit
http://www.icecd.org/
International Centre for Entrepreneurship & Career Development (ICECD) creates self-sufficiency for people, especially women and youth, through economic empowerment and resultant socio-economic impact, in underdeveloped/developing countries.
http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/womeninbusiness/
U.S. Small Business Administration
Office of Women’s Business Ownership
www.onlinewbc.gov
U.S. Small Business Administration
Online Women’s Business Center
Leadership
Law
http://www.nwlc.org/
National Women’s Law Center
Medicine
http://www.amwa-doc.org/
American Medical Women’s Association
Politics
www.american.edu/oconnor/wandp/
American University School of Public Affairs
Women & Politics Institute
www.idea.int/gender/index.htm
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
Gender and Political Participation
www.lwv.org
League of Women Voters
www.nwpc.org
National Women’s Political Caucus
www.thewhitehouseproject.org/
White House Project
The White House Project works to create a climate in America conducive to the advancement of women to be governors, CEOs, and president.
Trafficking
http://www.hrlawgroup.org/initiatives/trafficking_persons
International Human Rights Law Group
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/global/traffic/
Human Trafficking. U.S. Department of State/International Information Programs.
Women’s Studies
http://www.lii.org/search?query=women;no_stem=1;searchtype=subject
Librarian’s Index to the Internet—Women
http://www.nau.edu/~wst/access/hotlist/hotlist.html
Northern Arizona University—Women’s Studies resources
http://dmoz.org/Society/People/Women/
Open Directory Project—Women’s Issues
http://www.women-connect.org/links/links.htm
Women Connect!
Diverse links and resources from this project of the Pacific Institute on Women’s Health
Other Informative Sites
http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/women/
A web page on women in the United States that includes policy texts and links to government agencies dealing with women's issues; articles, documents, laws, links to other NGO Web sites, etc. Topics include: women's history, domestic violence, and women's rights.
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/rights/women/homepage.htm
Women in the Global Community
This page contains information on women's issues.
http://state.gov/g/wi/
This is a comprehensive page covering international women's issues and is maintained by the U.S. Dept. of State.
