MDM_research_websites

Kurt, Phil, Ryan

__ EVALUATING WEBSITES __

__ Context is the Primary Factor of Evaluating a Website  __
· What are your needs? · What are you using the web for? · What does the site offer?

· Author à  who wrote/recorded the data? · Date of Publication à  when was it published? · Edition or Revision à was it edited since last recorded? · Publisher à  who published the online article? · Title of Journal <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msoasciifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">à <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';"> what is the name of the article? · <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';">Intended Audience <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msoasciifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">à <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';"> who is the target audience? · <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';">Objective Reasoning <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msoasciifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">à <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';"> efforts made to draw a conclusion · <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';">Coverage <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msoasciifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">à <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';"> recapping the story or topic <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">· <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS';">Writing Style <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-hansi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings; msoasciifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msochartype: symbol; msofareastfontfamily: 'Arial Unicode MS'; msohansifontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msosymbolfontfamily: Wingdings;">à  form of writing (formal, detailed, simple) =**__ Coverage __**= · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Check the header for a clear title and web site   description · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Check the content for headings and keywords · Check the navigation to reflect content outline within the web site
 * __ How To Evaluate Sites __**

__ Objectivity __
· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Check the content for statement of purpose, to determine the type of web site and potential target audience. <span style="color: black; font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">· <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Look for external links; are they pushing to one side of the argument? · <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Check the URL/domain (.gov .com .edu) <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;"> to determine organizational source of website and how this reflects on content type

__ Cross-Checking __
Check the content for spelling, grammar, facts, and consistency. Look for references to books, journals, and databases to evaluate how reliable the data is.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; msoansilanguage: EN-CA; msofareastfontfamily: 'MS Gothic'; msofontkerning: 12.0pt;"> You don't want to be using information an outdated website made in 1996, a lot has changed in 13 years.
 * __ Remember… __**

__Quiz__
===<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Websites MUST absolutely: === ===<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Have relevant pictures === ===<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">State authors and references === ===<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Have external links === ===<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Be updated within three months ===

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">
===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">When evaluating a website, what aspects should you pay most attention to? === ===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Author of the Website ===

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">
===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">Which one of these does not include finding context: ===

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">What are you needs
===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">What are you using the web for === ===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">How many people use this site === ===<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; msobidifontsize: 10.0pt; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none; textunderline: none;">What does this site offer ===

__ Work Cited __
<span style="display: block; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 30pt; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; text-align: center;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'MS Gothic'; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">Joseph Frank Landsberger. (5 January, 2006). Evaluating Website Content. In //Study Guides and Strategies//. Retrieved October 22, 2009, http://www.studygs.net/evaluate.html.

John Bassett. (May 12, 2005). Net Know-How. In Search & Research. Retrieved October 22, 2009. http://www.netknowhow.ca/nkhSRevaluate.html.

Henderson, John R. (August. 29, 2009). Evaluating Websites: Criteria and Tools. Retrieved October 22, 2009. http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/webeval.html