- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Research Guides
- Bottled Water
- Finding Web sites
Bottled Water : Finding Web sites
Evaluating Web Sites
How can you trust what you see on the Internet? Anyone can and will post information on the Internet, so it is important to evaluate the quality of the information you find. Librarians agree that these are questions you should always ask about a web site:
- WHAT is the site about? Does it have the kind of information you need?
- WHO created the page/site?
- WHERE is the information coming from?
- WHY is this site on the web and how does it affect the information?
- WHEN was the page or information created? Is the date important for the timeliness of the content?
See UW-Madison Libraries Judging Reliability and Relevance.
Web Subject Directories
Besides journal articles and technical books, you may need to use the Web to locate your sources of information. When searching for Web sites that have recommended information from reliable sources, we suggest using a Web Subject Directory. A Web Subject Directory acts like a "Table of Contents for the Internet" and can save you time searching. Most Subject Directories are compiled by experts in various fields. Subject directories usually have a smaller number of sites. They are useful for browsing broad questions like "I need to find information on bottled water …."
- Environmental and Energy Resources LibraryeERL is a product of a community college-based National Science Foundation Center, the Advanced Technology Environmental and Energy Center (ATEEC), and its partners.
- Internet Public LibraryThe Internet Public Library is a public service organization and a learning/teaching environment founded at the University of Michigan School of Information and hosted by Drexel University's College of Information Science & Technology.
- KidsClick!KidsClick is owned and run by the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at San Jose State University.
- Librarians' Internet IndexLibrarians' Internet Index (LII) is a publicly-funded website and weekly newsletter "serving California, the nation, and the world."
- Open DirectoryThe Kids and Teens Open Directory Project's goal is to produce the most comprehensive directory of the web for people under the age of 18, by relying on a vast army of volunteer editors.
- Science.gov Water ResourcesScience.gov searches over 38 databases and 1,950 selected websites, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information, including research and development results.
- The Why Files: Guzzle, Guzzle....The mission of The Why Files is to explore the science, math and technology behind the news of the day, and to present those topics in a clear, accessible and accurate manner. We are based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but The Why Files covers science at all institutions that engage in scientific exploration and discovery. We hope this information will help explain the relationship between science and daily life.
Who else might be important?
ASSOCIATIONS
Scientific associations (such as the American Chemical Society, American Fisheries Association) may produce reliable, scientific information. Some possible trade associations to consider: International Bottled Water Association, Container Recycling Institute.
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Who are the businesses involved in bottled water and how is the industry doing?
Standard and Poor's Net Advantage: look for "Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages" Industry Survey.
ABI/Inform: corporate strategies, trends, and business conditions.
Other useful stuff
Maybe from the manufacturers, but full of some useful items:
As we find useful links, we'll add them here.