19/09/07 WK 8 Evaluation and Authentication

Week 8 Lecture

Evaluation and Authentication

When using information from an unknown source the source first needs to be evaluated in order to establish accuracy, relevance and reliability. Information found on the web can be extremely untrustworthy. The Web has no quality control and those who publish on it are able to do so without having to adhere to any standards. So the information found there must be treated with extreme caution.

There are three major areas to consider when assessing content found on the web. Accuracy, authority and coverage.

To assess accuracy, consider whether the author is biased, what the authors intentions are for publishing the site, is the author knowledgeable, when was the page last updated, are there errors and is the information supported by references etc.

When considering the issue of authority ask questions about the identity of the author, whether the author is qualified to give information on the topic, is the author contactable, who are the sponsors of the site, is information about the author and sponsors available?

The coverage of information contained in a site needs to be considered as the amount present and purpose of the site will determine whether it is factual source or one created for amusement. Also is the site relevant to your purpose? A good question to ask is, 'could better quality information and a larger amount be found in an encyclopedia?' If yes than the source is probably not a reliable one. Consider if the information gives both an argument for and against. Consider if the site is trying to persuade you to it's point of view and if the site covers enough information.

Workshop Summary

Describe in your own words the strategies covered on the ICYouSee Critical Thinking page.

• When searching for information on the web, ask yourself if it the most efficient place to be searching. If finding what you are after would be quicker another way, then wasting time searching the web is unnecessary. Not all information can be found on the web. It may be easier to search a state library for example, for historical information which may to old to be found on the web.
• Question any information found on the web and try to establish it's reliability before believing it. Check other sources to see how the site compares, consider whether there are any references for the site and check any links that are given.
• Consider who is responsible for a site and what their qualifications are. Looking at the URL can give some information on the site such as a .gov; will mean it's more reliable than one on the same topic with a tilde (~) in it's domain name as these represent a personal site. Look to see if the creator of the site is contactable and always try to establish whether or not they are experts in the subject.
• Be aware of the hidden intent of some web pages. Sometimes bias is obvious but can also be well disguised. Look consciously as that a site may be trying to manipulate your opinion. Consider the sponsors for the site and if it is their intent to sell something rather than give factual information.
• Reflect on whether the site looks professional. Dose it contain spelling or grammatical errors? Is the site serious with an focus on content rather than extravagant graphics and has put more time into the look of the site rather than the reliability of information.
• Know the difference between Web pages and pages found on the web. Always question information that you read as it may be written by an expert but still contain bias. News and magazine articles may be available online but not published especially for the web. Considering where information is from will be useful in establishing it's creator and their intent.

Evaluate two websites from ICYouSee under the provided headings.

The Almost Great society: The 1960's

Accuracy

The article 'Lecture 27' provides many dates and statistics in chronological order and provides acknowledgment of sources from which the photos were derived, including the copy write date. Errors in spelling were not detected, the paragraphs are well structured, the only discrepancy with the quality of the information is occasionally it not as formally worded as tertiary standards require.

Authorship

An .edu is present in the URL title and the end of the document contains the copyright of the University of Wisconsin. The individual author is not credited and therefore their expertise can not be evaluated. It is highly likely that this document is from the University of Wisconsin but whether a professor of student created it, is not stated. Presumably because of its origin the article is reliable but the information and particularly the dates should be checked with another reference source.

Purpose

The intention of this source is clear in it’s purpose is to educate. Links to other lectures are present and the article appears to be in a series of lectures in this site. As in it's authorship this page is hosted by the University of Wisconsin so assuming it is educational purposes would be a safe assumption.

Detail and Design

The design of this site looks less like as university class resource and more like a creative report presented by a student in secondary education. A tertiary paper for learning purposes on American history, expectedly, would use limited colour and creative flair and be presented rather in formal essay structure which seems the purpose of the subtitle of 'Lecture 27' implies. The title 'American History 102' has been creatively presented giving it the feel of a creative article or student presentation. Structured in report format, the information is presented under headings, incorporates photos witch is not like a report as a secondary school assignment and the decorative background diminishes from the formality of the topic and seems less reliable due to this fact.

Overall Worth

If dates used in this report were found to be correct this resource would be useful to a student considering how to group information. It’s presentation and lack of a credited author does not make it of academic quality and would need peer approval before using it’s information as a reliable resource.

American Cultural History

Accuracy

The accuracy in this article is difficult to determine because the information is presented in the form of a summary. There are references in the summaries provided which allows the user to gain some knowledge of the topics covered. Some of the summaries provided do seem to have drawn conclusions without factual references and appears more in the form of an account of some one who was present rather than a well read expert.

Authorship

An .edu is found in the URL of this site, which credits this site as an education facility. The authors names are present but their credentials are not given. The information is subjected to the copyright of the Kingwood College Library making information considered valuable by the author. It is likely this information is from the source that is quoted and being a library resource was probably created by a librarian, but as no credentials are sited for the author, whether the author is an expert on the subject remains undetermined.

Purpose

The purpose of the information is to provide overviews in the cultural subject areas of the 60's. This source is structured in the form of a library resource that was created to assits students in this area of research. This is evident due to the list of given resources under each summary.

Detail and Design

The design of the site and structure of the information is professional and well researched. The addition of photos may not be necessary but work well with the purpose of the information to give and introduction to the subject areas.

Overall Worth

The relevance of this site is restricted to users wanting information on cultural history. The information would be reasonably useful to anyone researching this information as linking to the different areas will bring the user directly to what they are interested in and allow them to only have to read what is need.