The lecture for week eight included knowledge students could use to decide whether or not information on websites is factual or more or less people’s opinions. Using information on the web is quite risky as anybody can obtain a web page and publish information that may or may not be credible. As there are no web standards in place, there is no telling how authentic the knowledge you are gaining is. It is always a good idea to ask yourself questions about the website you are visiting. What is its purpose? Who is the author? Can you contact the author to ask them questions? Also look to see if the information given seems to show any level of bias. Looking for the domain type will also give you some clues behind the purpose of the website.
Workshop
In the workshop for week eight, students were asked to visit http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html and rewrite in our own words the strategies the site lists for evaluating information on the internet.
Firstly, you must understand whether or not the Web is the right source for what you are looking for. Some information (for different reasons) is not listed on the Web and while you could spend hours on end looking for it there, you might find considerably quicker by looking through a journal or book.
You must also question every piece of information you find. Look for the resources used and/or research that back it up. Don’t just take the authors word for it.
It is a good idea to have knowledge of who the author is and if they have any credentials that might suggest they are very knowledgeable in whatever subject they include on their site. You can even try Googling the authors name for more information on them. The domain can also give you clues to the nature of the website (.gov usually being more reliable than .com sites).
If possible, find out who is the sponsor behind the site. Figure out who the target audience is for the site through use of language on the site.
Sometimes it is very easy to tell how credible a site is if you take a step back and look at the website as a whole. Are there spelling mistakes? Is there advertising and if so, for what? Are there distracting images and/or icons? All of these things can suggest the purpose of the site.
There are different types of pages on the WWW that differ from the common web page. These can be accessed through web pages but serve a different purpose. These pages can include articles and books.
For the second part of the workshop, students were asked to evaluate sites from the Web Site Evaluation Assignment.
The first site I chose to evaluate is located at http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade60.html
Accuracy – I believe this site is fairly accurate because the information appears to be supported by dates and links to other websites with further information about the subject matter. For an example, view the screenshot below.
Authorship – In the signature down the bottom of the website, there is a list of the site authors. While they do not appear to have any credentials, they do seem to be affiliated with Kingwood College. There is also a link to contact one of the authors if the reader wishes to do so. To see this, view the screenshot below.
Purpose – I believe the purpose of this site is to review what was accomplished during the 1960s.
Detail and Design – The detail in the website seems to be of a good quality and nothing stands out as being nonsense. There is a wide coverage on what happened in the 1960s. While the site becomes a little hard to navigate at times with the menu being at the top of the text, the design of the page isn’t bad. With the aid of pictures, the reader knows what the purpose of the paragraph is.
Overall Worth – I believe this page was worth visiting as it included a vast amount of information and statistics surrounding the 1960s. Nothing seemed to be particularly unique about the site however, save for the fact that the authors stayed on topic throughout the entire text. The site also appears to be free of any spelling or grammar mistakes.
The second site I chose to evaluate is located at
http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/sixties/
Accuracy – I believe the information on this site is reliable because the website includes articles from what seems to be a scholarly journal.
Authorship – The person responsible for the site does not appear to have any credentials, nor do they seem to be linked with any reputable sponsors. There are, however, clear contact details listed on the first page. View the screenshot below.
Purpose – While I am unsure of the exact purpose of this site, I believe it is to collect information and literature either from or about the 1960s.
Detail and Design – The information on this site seems to be of worth, but for it to be useful to a student, I believe that student must search thoroughly through the site to find information relevant to what he or she needs. This is because there is a vast amount of information and not all of it seems to flow in a logical order. The design of the page, while a little busy and hard on the eyes, is easy to follow.
Overall Worth – I believe this page would be worth visiting for somebody researching the 1960s. What is unique about the site is that it offers such a large amount of poetry about the 1960s. There also does not appear to be any mistakes where grammar or spelling is concerned.
Readings
There was a notice on blackboard that informed students that the readings for week 8 were not compulsory. Because of this, I chose not to do them so as to pay more attention to my group assignment.
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