LibGuides: Modern Languages, Translation and Interpreting Studies: Websites

Evaluating websites

Finding information on the internet is easy, but finding good quality and reliable information is trickier than you think. Take a look at our tips in this section on how to get the most out of searching online. Before you use any web resource in your assignment ask yourself “Is the web page as good as information you would find in a book or academic journal?”

Webpages can be set up by anyone, therefore before referencing a site check that the information is reliable and accurate.
Check:

Who wrote the information? Do they have relevant qualifications? Have they written other material on the subject? Do they have a bias?
When was the information published? Is it current enough for your needs?
Why was the page put on the web? Is it selling or promoting something? Is it biased?

Look for the clues in the URL

.com – a commercial company
.co.uk – a commercial UK company
.edu – a US academic institution
.ac.uk – a UK academic institution
.org – a non-profit organisation
.gov or .gov.uk – a US or UK government site

Are you struggling to find what you need on Google?

Here are some tips to improve your results!

Try using Google Advanced Search
If you are looking for an exact phrase try using quotation marks "Critical Appraisal Tools"
Try a Google site search "Critical Appraisal Tools" site:ac.uk This returns results from only academic institutions in the UK.

Still not finding enough academic resources in Google?

Try using Google Scholar which searches scholarly literature. You can link Google Scholar to Swansea University's subscriptions, full instructions can be found in the guide below.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar - Literature searching

European Sources Online This link opens in a new window European Sources Online (ESO) is an online database which provides access to information on the institutions and activities of the European Union, the countries, regions and other international organisations of Europe, and on the issues of importance to European citizens and stakeholders. ESO provides access to thousands of expertly selected websites, documents and publications from the EU and other international organisations, national governments, think tanks, stakeholder organisations, working papers etc., full text articles from Financial Times and European Voice, plus bibliographic records to key academic textbooks and periodical articles, and a series of Information Guides compiled by the ESO Editorial Team. Updated daily.

French Studies Web The French Studies Web provides links to scholarly web resources and includes sites of particular interest to scholars specializing in Western Europe. It does not strive for exhaustiveness. Where possible, links to high-quality, scholarly meta-sites are given.
Gallica The Gallica pages, part of the website of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, give access to a vast collection of digitised texts and images covering the period from the Middle Ages onwards. Subjects covered include philosophy, law, economics and politics as well as history and literature. The Web site provides chronologies of the periods alongside thematic pages with links to related works. Alternatively, you can use the online catalogue to search for particular works, or by subject. A selection of dictionaries is also available as are a number of themed collections or dossiers and some audio resources. The Web site and most of the texts are in French, but there is also a selection of texts in other languages.

Open Memory Box This link opens in a new window Open Memory Box encompasses 415 hours of home movies that 150 families made in East Germany between 1947 and 1990 The collection covers everything from birthday parties to burial, from May Day demonstrations to attempts to flee the country.

German Studies Web German Studies Web provides access to scholarly resources in German Studies, including all German-speaking countries. These have undergone a selection and evaluation process and annotations have been provided, augmenting their research value.
literaturkritik.de Die Zeitschrift literaturkritik.de ist ein monatlich erscheinendes Rezensionsforum für Literatur und für Kulturwissenschaften.

Italinemo This link opens in a new window Analysis, filing, indexing of Italian magazines published worldwide since 2000. Abstract for each article. Cross-research by authors and titles, by keywords, by names of publications, by collaborators. Biographical profiles of periodicals and summary description of each issue.

Interpreter's Resources Multilingual interpreters’ resources. Resources for Italian interpretation and many other languages too.
Italian Studies Web The Italian Studies Web is designed to provide access to scholarly resources in Italian Studies. The emphasis is on quality rather than exhaustiveness. The resources are organised and have undergone a selection and evaluation process. Annotations have been provided, augmenting the research value of these resources to scholars.

Biblioteca Digital Hispanica This link opens in a new window The Biblioteca Digital Hispanica offers digital access to collections in Spanish from the national library of Spain, including: manuscripts; books; maps; and photos from the fifteenth century onwards. This is a useful resource for anyone looking for Spanish primary sources from the 19th century, particularly those interested in the relationship between Spain and Latin America.

Iberian Studies Web The Iberian Studies Web is designed to provide access to scholarly resources in Iberian Studies (for Spain, Portugal and Andorra). The emphasis is on quality rather than exhaustiveness. The organised resources have undergone a selection and evaluation process. Annotations have been added where needed, augmenting the research value to scholars.
Latin American Network Information Center Latin American Network Information Center at the University of Texas is the most important Web site for Latin America. It gives access to a vast amount of information on Latin America. There are links to many newspapers.
Society for Latin American Studies (SLAS) The Society provides a strong community to support all those working in the area of Latin American studies, a multidisciplinary field of research that encompasses the arts, humanities, social sciences, and highly innovative interdisciplinary research to address the region's most pressing issues.
European Studies Web This guide is a list of scholarly resources in European Studies broadly but also in some cases resources for regions or specific countries of Europe. Useful to scholars in this field.
Western European Studies Section The Western European Studies Section (WESS) represents librarians and others who specialize or are otherwise professionally involved in the acquisition, organization, and use of information sources originating in or related to Western European countries. Their aim is to promote the improvement of services supporting study and research in Western European affairs from ancient times to the present.
Zakon Resource Library free of charge providing a valusable source of information for investigation and interview trining. Look look under “I” for “Interpreting” to find relevant resources.

ABYZ News Links The site lists over 15,600 newspapers and other news sources by country and by region within each country. There is a language code next to each newspaper and separate links to alternative language versions if they are available.
onlinenewspapers.com A useful listing of newspapers organised by continent then country.