Web Site Assessment Practice

Let's say you need to write a 5-page report on global warming.

Browse to the U.N. Climate Change Synthesis Report and rate the accuracy by marking your degree of agreement with each of the following statements:

The information is free of grammatical, spelling, and other typographical errors.

The U.N. information appears to be very thoroughly proof-read

It is clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material.

Yes, it is clear. Follow the link in the upper right "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change", then click "About IPCC" on the left. This takes you to http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm

The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can be verified in another source.

Yes, though indirectly. This site is a summary of several other reports, which list their sources of information. Click the symbol

wherever you see it, to find source information.

The information given does not conflict with facts I know to be true.

The information does not conflict with anything I know, though it is very technical so I am unlikely to be able to criticize it.
Consequently, equal credit is given for any answer you choose for this question

Site assessment: I believe the U.N. Climate Change Synthesis Report is completety accurate and trustworthy.

The topic of global climate change is controversial, but this report appears as accurate as human technology can make it.

Now, browse to Cato Institute's discussion and rate the accuracy by marking your degree of agreement with each of the following statements:

The information is free of grammatical, spelling, and other typographical errors.

Yes, the information is appears carefully written and proof-read.

It is clear who has the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the material.

Yes. It is written by Richard S. Lindzen, Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and supported by the CATO Institute, described at http://www.cato.org/about/about.html

The sources for any factual information are clearly listed so they can be verified in another source.

Although names of some sources are listed, most claims are not substantiated by references; charts and graphs do not have sources listed.

The information given does not conflict with facts I know to be true.

The information given conflicts with that given in the U.N. report, but this is not surprising since global climate change is controversial. Since I am not well-read in climatology, I can't make an authoritative judgement about this.

Site assessment: I believe CATO Institute's discussion is completety accurate and trustworthy.

Although well written by a full Professor at one of the most prestigeous higher education institutions in the world (MIT), the lack of citations for any claims, and the lack of sources for graphs and charts seriously undermine this presentation.

Accuracy Ranking: Which of the two sites is more accurate?
Mark True for CATO Institute's discussion of climate change
Mark False for U.N. Climate Change Synthesis Report

Assessing Authority

Suppose you need to write a 5-page paper about North Korea's "Dear Leader", Kim Jong-Il for a Political Science class.

Browse to Answers.com and rate their authority by marking your degree of agreement with each of the following statements:

There is a link to a page describing the purpose of the sponsoring organization.

The "About" link at the bottom of the page leads to a company overview at http://www.answers.com/main/ir/about_company.jsp

There is a way of verifying the legitimacy of the page's sponsor. (That is, a phone number or postal address to contact for more information - an email address is not enough!)

Yes: two office locations and phone numbers are given by following the "Contact Us" link to http://www.answers.com/main/contact_us.jsp

It is clear who wrote the material, and the author's qualifications for writing on this topic are clearly stated. Or, if the site is part of a large organization, it is clear that the organization stands behind the material and is qualified to do so.

No individual author is listed. The organization, Answers.com, is an advertizing-supported corporation. Though it is clear the organization supports the author, the qualifications of the organization are not clear.

If the material is protected by copyright, the name of the copyright holder is given.

There is a Copyright section at the bottom of the page listing 5 copyright holders for various pieces of the content.

What is the source of the writers' authority? Mark all you feel are justified:

Site assessment: I believe Answers.com is very authoritative and trustworthy.

Though not first-hand authority, this article gains credibility from the many sources cited. Not so trustworthy is the site's commercial support. It's always possible that a commercial sponsor might disapprove of something in the text and force Answers.com to remove or modify it.

Now browse to Facade.com and rate the authority by marking your degree of agreement with each of the following statements:

There is a link to a page describing the purpose of the sponsoring organization.

The home page (reached by a link in the upper left of every page) describes the purpose of the site as "devoted to Tarot, Runes, I Ching, Biorhythms, Numerology, and other forms of spiritual introspection".

There is a way of verifying the legitimacy of the page's sponsor. (That is, a phone number or postal address to contact for more information - an email address is not enough!)

Only email contact is provided.

The Facade organization claims to have been in business on the Internet since 1993, but that is not substantiated; nor is there any description of the qualifications of author(s). However, the organization clearly stands behind the material.

If the material is protected by copyright, the name of the copyright holder is given.

Yes, but only the name of the organization, Facade.

What is the source of the writers' authority? Mark all you feel are justified:

Site assessment: I believe Facade.com is very authoritative and trustworthy.

No support for the authority of the site is provided, and in any case the focus of the site (divination) is not appropriate for the focus of the paper you are supposed to write (political science).

Authority Ranking: Which of the two sites is more authoritative?

Assessing Objectivity

You and a friend have been arguing about "Bigfoot". Is it real, or a hoax? What's really out there?

Browse to Wikipedia and rate the site's objectivity by anwering these questions:

If there is any advertising on the page, it is clearly differentiated from the informational content.

The information is presented using neutral words, not using words "loaded" to sway people's opinion.

Site assessment: I believe Wikipedia is very objective and trustworthy.

If there is any advertising on the page, it is clearly differentiated from the informational content.

The information is presented using neutral words, not using words "loaded" to sway people's opinion.

Site assessment: I believe Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization is very objective and trustworthy.

Objectivity Ranking: Which of the two sites appears more objective?

Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization

Assessing Currency

You've got knee problems, and you need to find reliable information on what to do about it.

Browse to Knee1 Forum and rate the site's currency by marking your degree of agreement with each of the following statements:

How important is it that the information on the page be written recently?

Are there dates on the page to indicate when the page was written, first placed on the Web, and last revised?

If material is presented in graphs and/or charts, it is clearly stated when the data was gathered.

If the information is published in different editions, it is clearly labeled what edition the page is from.

What indications are there that the material is kept current? Mark all you feel are relevant to this site:

Site assessment: I believe Knee1 Forum is very current and up to date.

How important is it that the information on the page be written recently?

Are there dates on the page to indicate when the page was written, first placed on the Web, and last revised?

If material is presented in graphs and/or charts, it is clearly stated when the data was gathered.

If the information is published in different editions, it is clearly labeled what edition the page is from.

What indications are there that the material is kept current? Mark all you feel are relevant to this site:

Currency Ranking: Which of the two sites appears more current?

National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

Assessing Coverage

You've been curious about the house Bill Gates built for himself.

The information is technical or detailed enough to meet my information needs, but not overwhelming or confusing.

This site has enough information to do what I need to do.

Site assessment: I believe King County, Washington's information is very helpful, and gives the right kind and amount of information for what I need.

Browse to Jeff Maurone's blog and rate the site's coverage by marking each of the following statements:

The information is technical or detailed enough to meet my information needs, but not overwhelming or confusing.

This site has enough information to do what I need to do.

Site assessment: I believe Jeff Maurone's blog is very helpful, and gives the right kind and amount of information for what I need.

Coverage Ranking: Which of the two sites appears more to have a more helpful level of coverage for you?

Assessing Accuracy

Assessing Authority

Assessing Objectivity

Assessing Currency

Assessing Coverage