Reliable Data Collection: Data collection through internet is challenging with several difficulties and issues. Everything is available on the Internet, and people enter all sorts of queries on Google, from how to tie your shoelaces to how to write a research paper. However, the Internet suffers from an overload of information, and there is a lot of invalid information. There are conspiracy theories and blog experts who claim that taking certain steps will cure cancer. Data collection for research requires collecting data from valid and authentic sources. Researchers must have the ability to differentiate between reliable and unreliable data. This article will tell you how you can ensure that the data collection through Internet is reliable.

Why is it important to ensure that the data collection through Internet is reliable?

The Internet is a repository of rich data, and due to the digital technologies, everything is available on the World Wide Web these days. Researchers can access quantitative and qualitative data online. People who want to get information and people who want to share data can access the Internet. Researchers must try to filter the data they come across on the World Wide Web. It is because there is an information overload on the Internet, and not everything is credible. People upload facts and figures that are counterfactual and biased statements. Researchers, therefore, must develop the ability to critically evaluate the data collected through the Internet. It is essential to ensure data reliability because otherwise, it affects the research findings. Hiring a dissertation writing service UK can be much beneficial for it.

How can you ensure the reliability of data collected through the Internet?

1. Take help from a librarian.

To begin with, your neighborhood or university library may be able to distinguish between websites that are inauthentic and those that are beneficial online information sources. Keep in mind that anyone can create a webpage on the Internet, and many websites might not be very helpful when looking for precise quantitative data. Many librarians, especially reference librarians, have received specialised training in information retrieval and search techniques for library users. Your university library’s information specialist can help you find accurate and trustworthy Internet information while saving you a lot of time. Universities also conduct seminars on retrieving accurate information sources from the Internet. You can also attend seminars to retrieve information from credible sources. Ensuring that you collect data from reliable sources is the most crucial step in ensuring that data collection through Internet is reliable.

• Assess the Website’s URL

Due to the huge amount of information available on the Internet, which is of different quality, websites must be assessed for validity, dependability, neutrality, correctness, and freshness. Researchers can evaluate the encyclopedia entries and journal articles by screening the sources based on authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers. However, most of the content on the Internet does not operate in that way. It is your responsibility to determine if the information you find online is acceptable because digital content is not subject to approval by anyone. The authority of the data on the website can be substantially inferred from the domain name. The domain name is the first component of the universal resource locator (URL), a piece of code used to specify where a web page came from. For example, of the address org.com, the “org” is the domain name, meaning that the webpage belongs to any organisation.

Similarly, governments use the domain name “gov,” which indicates that the data available on these websites are credible. The “.edu” domain name indicates that the webpage belongs to a university or an educational institute. The information given on these websites is credible since experts compile it. However, be mindful that faculty members may post contentious and prejudiced information to defend their positions, in addition to students posting information on academic websites. As a result, information found on university websites should still be viewed with caution.

There are numerous websites with the.com, .org, or.net suffixes that offer priceless, trustworthy, and correct information, but remember that the persons responsible for building those websites do it with specific political, cultural, or commercial objectives in mind. There is a good chance that the information on their website is incomplete, inaccurate, and prejudiced compared to what you need. So, it is important to evaluate the sources and ensure that the data collection through internet is reliable. You can also enter the URL of the website on “MyBib” to assess the credibility of the source. MyBib is an online reference generator, but it also helps researchers assess the credibility of the information sources. For example, when you enter the URL of the website on the reference generator, it will provide the following indications:

• Credible, which indicates that the source is reliable
• Probably Credible, which means that the credibility is disputed
• Proceed with caution indicates that the source information is not credible

• Assess the Webpage

You can also evaluate the webpage to ensure that the data collection through internet is reliable. You can assess the web page’s credibility by checking the following things:

• The author(s) names should be prominently shown in the page’s header or footer, along with their contact details (including email, phone number, and address).
• The affiliations of the author are clearly stated on the webpage
• Evaluate the author’s education, work history and credibility in his or her research area

You can easily assess the above-mentioned things by visiting the authors’ biographical information. The accuracy of the information on a website is closely related to the website’s authority. Observing whether the information provided on the website is from a reputable author or organisation ensures that data collection through internet is reliable. You can assess whether the information available on the Internet web page is from a book or peer-reviewed journals or whether the website is an online journal.

Conclusion

Be mindful that search engines do not assess websites for the accuracy or applicability of the material they provide while seeking information online. Different search engines use different selection methods, and these algorithms are frequently not suited to your needs. Once you consider these factors and develop a questioning attitude towards the data sources, it helps ensure that the data collection through internet is reliable.