Transcript Evaluate a web page? - Stephens

Evaluate a web page?
Why you need to evaluate web pages!
Not just any page will be acceptable for college
research because …
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Anyone can publish “information” on the web, from an
elementary school student to someone with an unusual
idea.
There is no criteria or review process for publishing on the
web. Information may be false or biased.
The web is constantly changing. New sites are continually
added and other sites often disappear or are never updated.
Some web pages are hoaxes or deliberately misleading.
Some sites like the entertainment ones are not for research!
What are some different types of web pages?
(and why do you need to know??)
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Informational
Business
Advocacy
News
Personal
Entertainment
These pages are aimed at different audiences and have different purposes.
Understanding these differences can help you determine if the web page
you found is the right one for your needs.
Often the “domain ending” of the URL will give you a clue to the type of web
page that you are looking at – and the intention for that page!
Examples of domain endings are:
.org
.edu
.com
.gov
.mus
Informational
• Purpose: to provide factual information
• Various URL domain endings:
.gov, .org, .edu, or .mus
• Examples:
NIAAA
Smithsonian
CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
What were the URL domain endings for these sites?
Business
• Purpose: to advertise or sell
products or services of the
business
• Common URL domain ending:
.com
• Check these out!
Microsoft
Amazon.com
Advocacy
• Purpose: to influence public opinion
• Common URL domain ending: .org
Examples:
National Right to Life Committee
Republican Party
National Rifle Association
News
• Purpose: to provide the current news
• Common URL domain ending: .com
Examples:
USA Today
FOX Sports
Personal
• Purpose: Depends on the author
• Common URL domain endings: .edu or .com
(depending on who is hosting the site)
Examples:
Dr. Kip Wheeler’s page
Kathy Schrock’s Homepage
Entertainment
• Purpose: to entertain
• Common URL ending: .com
Examples:
Puzzles.com
War Games
I-am-bored
What are the criteria for evaluating
Web pages?
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Authority
Accuracy
Purpose/Objectivity
Currency
Completeness of coverage
We will go through each of these, with questions
and suggestions to help you determine if the
page meets the evaluation criteria.
Authority
Questions to ask:
• Who wrote the page?
• Are the author’s credentials given?
• Is contact information given?
• Who sponsored the page?
What to look for?
• Author’s name at top or bottom of page or at end of an article.
• Biographical information on the author or his affiliations.
• Contact information given such as address, email address or phone
number.
• Is the sponsor of the page mentioned? Look at the domain in the URL?
Generally .gov, .edu, and .org sites are most reliable.
• Is the site a commercial internet provider such as such as AOL,
Mindspring, MSN or an online community such as Geocities, Tripod,
Angelfire. Individuals often put their personal web pages on these sites.
They may have a tilde (~) in the URL which indicates personal pages on a
larger website. Use these sites with much caution.
Look at this site:
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/
Look at this site:
(2 pages)
http://147.129.226.1/library/research/AIDSFACTS.htm
“True but little
known facts…”
(Con’t)
Purpose/Objectivity
Questions to ask?
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What is the purpose of the web page? Educational, entertainment,
persuasion, advertising or sales, informational?
Who is the intended audience?
Can you detect any bias? Controversial opinions with only one side of
an issue presented?
Is this information on the page influenced by any advertising or
sponsoring agency?
What to look for?
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Look again at the purpose of the page in the mission statement or
“About this page”. Can you see any bias or particular advocacy or belief
that is central to the mission.
Who is the audience? Children, academic researchers, general public, or
shoppers? Is the vocabulary easy to read or the more professional or
technical language of a discipline?
Is the information presented inflammatory, one-sided and
controversial? Or is it balanced and covers opposing sides of an issue?
Look at this site:
( 2 pages)
http://www.smokingsection.com/issues1.html#smoke
“Smokingsection…”
(con’t)
Currency
Questions to ask?
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Depending on the discipline, currency may or may not be an issue. In
the sciences, medicine, technology, or business, currency can be
critical.
Is the information on the page current or outdated ?
Are the links still working and current?
What to look for?
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Is it current in comparison to other resources?
Notice the resources cited. Are they older and from about the same
time period? That could mean that the page has not been updated.
Check the page for date published or last date the page was updated?
Check some of the links. Are they working? Dead links can be a sign
of a page that is not being maintained.
Look at this site:
http://www.islam-guide.com/
Completeness of coverage:
Questions to ask?
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What aspects of the topic are covered? Is there any vital information
on the topic omitted?
Is the material just a short review, an opinion statement, a report of
research, or an in-depth study?
Is the coverage comprehensive or does it cover just a certain time
period or aspect?
What to look for?
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What aspects of the topic are covered? Is there any vital information
that is omitted?
Is the material just a short review, an opinion statement, a report of
research, or an in-depth study?
Is the coverage comprehensive or does it cover just a certain aspect?
Examine this site: A good example of complete coverage of a topic!
Notice the coverage of the facts :
And the three perspectives covered:
Can you use the web in research? What for?
• Current news or information.
• Government documents and information.
• Homepages for companies, organizations, institutes,
museums, think tanks, etc.
• Entertainment sites.
• Popular culture information.
• Scholarly information can be found on the Web, but you
have to be very conscientious about researching the
author’s credentials and evaluating the site.
• One good place to look for scholarly information on the
Web is to use the “Scholarly Web Information Sources”
found under “Web Resources” on the Library Homepage.
After you determine that a web page is scholarly or
appropriate for your research assignment,
collect the following information to cite the page:
• Author(s), editor(s), or compiler (if given).
• Title of article.
• If a reprint from a print resource, the publication
information for the print source.
• Title of site.
• Organization, etc., responsible for the site (if given).
• Version or edition of site, if given.
• Date site was posted on the web or last updated.
• Date that you accessed the site.
• Complete URL or web address of the site.
How do you find the information on citation
styles that you need to cite a book?
1.Check your assignment or ask your professor what
documentation style you are to use.
2. Helpful resources for citing:
• Writing at C-N, 4th ed., pp. 66-68, gives a list of
preferences by C-N Academic Departments.
• Library Homepage
Under Library Resources, How do I? Cite Materials…
- Writing at C-N , 4th ed. ( Under Citation Styles and Samples,
Documentation Overview)
- “Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism: Documentation
Guidelines” (Duke University)
Plagiarism and the Web:
Words of Caution!
• Many web sites are available where you can get (or buy)
research papers or cut and paste sections of research
papers.
*Doing this is a violation of the “Academic Dishonesty”
policy of Carson-Newman College.
• Be smart!
If you were able to locate these, be aware that your
professor will be able to do a search and locate
these also.
• If you copy from a paper on the web, you have cheated
yourself out of a chance to learn and may very well fail
the course!