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The Internet or World Wide Web (WWW) offers you wide facilities for academic study and research, both in terms of primary sources, and in terms of secondary sources. As with a written text, you need to be aware of three areas, namely PLAGIARISM, REFERENCING and EVALUATION, explained below

(1) PLAGIARISM

As with a written text, if you use an electronic source, either in substance, or in a direct quotation, then you need to acknowledge your use of it. After all, that can actually be to your advantage, thereby showing the reader your active range of sources used. If you do not do this, then you will be open to plagiarism charges, which at Brunel carry an automatic penalty of 0% marking and further disciplinary charges. From the marking point of point, given the use of Higher Education anti-plagiarism software (e.g. www.plagiarism.org, www.turnitin.com and www.findsame.com) you are advised in your own interests not to fall into the danger of plagiarism, which each semester does come before the Examination Boards. See also general paper by Williams on Avoiding plagiarism.

(2) REFERENCING

The way to reference Internet material is quite straightforward. In your footnote or bibliography entry (explained in referencing advice) give the:

• author (where available)
• title (where available)
• book or journal date/page details (where available)
• the web site address 'in full' (e.g. 'www.etc,etc',)

(The web-site address is crucial to enable the reader to consult the material in the original as it were, and enables your reference to be counted as clear and accurate).

(3) EVALUATING

The Internet is a repository of variable sources. There is quantity, of 'variable' quality, which is where your evaluation needs to come in. It ranges from Harvard University, through collections like JSTOR and EBSCO, to personal websites. Amidst all this, ask yourself certain basic questions, such as:

• has it got an 'academic' tag (US = edu, UK = ac.uk) ?
• is the writer an academic at a recognised institution ?
• does the material come from a self-evident academic journal ?
• if the material is scanned, etc., is the original written text source given ?

Having said that, material that is more eclectic or populist is not necessarily invalid, after all in its own right it can stand as something of a 'primary source'. However, you are still left with the challenge of evaluating it, as with traditional written sources - evaluating it both as a type of source, and evaluating it for its actual content (see general advice on texts).

FOLLOW-UP SITES:

Web evaluation techniques, University of Vermont

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: or Why its a good idea to evaluate web sources, New Mexico State University Library

Evaluating Internet resources, University of Maryland

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