Melissa Fleming

SLM 521

Elective Activity

 

Evaluation Guide

   When evaluating websites, many people have different ideas of what criteria they would have to have within the website to make it credible.  Everyone has an idea in their mind of what they are looking for in a website, but one must some to a common ground on basic ideas that every credible website should have, so you are able to flow from one page to another.  Throughout this process, you may have brainstormed or sought secondary sources to help you come up with ideas, but in case you have not here are some of the characteristics it should have, and examples in what it should look like. The following are some of the ideas that I came up with:

 

Evaluating An Ideal Website

v    Text – Based

Þ    Extensive detail and depth of material suitable for scholarly research

Þ    Reliability of the source.

*        Is it from a government source? Higher education? Personal home page?

 

v     Contains –

Þ    Name of author(s)

Þ    Author’s qualifications

Þ    Publication date

Þ    Revision dates

*        Are the updates current?  Is this a site that needs to update regularly?

Þ    Contact information

*        Are you able to contact the webmaster?  Are you able to contact the author?

Þ    Distinction between author and webmaster

Þ    A viewpoint as objective and free from bias as possible – no hidden (or not so hidden) agendas

Þ    Clear and eloquently written text

*        Does the text seem to flow from one section to another?

*        Is it free from errors? (Grammatical? Spelling? Correct usage of words?)

Þ    Aesthetically pleasing layout – balance of text and graphics

*        Is there “too much going on?”  Are you able to stay focused, not wonder around, or get lost?

Þ    Easy to navigate format (links easily accessible and clearly labeled, in-site “return to previous page buttons”)

*        Are you able to stay focused, not wonder around, or get lost?

 

v    Multiple Layers of Information –

Þ    Primary sources linked to secondary sources

Þ    Relevant background information (historical, biographical, etc.)

*        Is the information useful?  Needed in this site?

Þ    Links to other credible sources

*        Descriptions of these links

*        Justification for their inclusion

*        Dates of revision indicating how current these links are

*        Are the links active?  Are they relative to the site?

Þ    No advertisements, propaganda, etc.

*        Are they trying to sell you anything?  Is the page cluttered with advertisements?

Þ    Bibliography

Þ    In text citations linked to the bibliography

Þ    Shouldn’t require unusual software programs to run the page

*        If any programs are needed (e.g. Adobe) they should be made available through a link to the program’s download site.

Þ    Resources such as a guide to evaluating information on the internet

Þ    Open to all – no fees or registration required

*        Is the most useful information for “members only?”

 

   Now that we have stated in how to evaluate websites let’s take a look at some examples of websites that I have found that are great examples of what you should be looking for, or counter-examples of what you should steer clear of:

 

à        Basic Requirements –

*        Clearly stated purpose and introduction to the site

*        EXAMPLE – Thomas Hardy Society (http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/Welcome/welcomet.htm)

*        Text based – extensive detail and sufficient depth of material suitable for scholarly research

*        EXAMPLE - Mark Twain – A Look at the Life and Works of Samuel Clemens

(http://www.hannibel.net/twain)

*        Clearly and eloquently written

*         EXAMPLE -  English History.net – John Keats

(http://englishhistory.net/keats/contents.html)

*        Viewpoint as objective and free from bias as possible, with no underlying agendas

§          No advertisements, propaganda, etc.

*        EXAMPLE - Mark Twain & His Times (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/railton/index2.html)

*        Site must contain

§          Author’s information and qualifications

§          Publication date

§          Revision dates

§          Contact information

§          Distinction between author and webmaster

*        EXAMPLE - The William Blake Archive (http://www.blakearchive.org)

·          An example of all of the above, and…

·          Up to date information

·          Bibliography

*        COUNTER-EXAMPLE - John Keats.com (http://www.john-keats.com)

·          Poorly written

·          Contains lots of internal advertisements

·          Open forum – no qualifications

§          E.g. Sci-fi Keats story

à     Aesthetically pleasing layout & a balance of text and graphics, easy to navigate –

*        EXAMPLE - Mark Twain on PBS (http://www.pbs.org/marktwain/)

*        COUNTER-EXAMPLE - The Charles Dickens Page (http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html)

à     Multiple layers of information (primary sources, secondary sources, relevant historical/biographical background information, etc) -

*        EXAMPLE – The William Blake Archive (http://www.blakearchive.org)

à     Annotated links to other credible sources –

*        EXAMPLE – Lit Links (http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/)

*        COUNTER-EXAMPLE – Hemmingway Foundation (http://www.ehfop.org/web.html)

à     In-text links to footnotes –

*        EXAMPLE – Pride and Prejudice Hypertext

(http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/ppv1n01.html)

à     Open to all – No fees or registration required –

*        COUNTER-EXAMPLE – Thomas Hardy Society

 (http://www.yale.edu/hardysoc/Welcome/welcomet.htm)

 

Good Example

Mark Twain Highlights - http://www.boondocksnet.com/twainwww/index.html

* This is a wonderful example of a site that has a vast amount of information that would be very useful to a student who might be doing research on Mark Twain.  You are able to read about why the author of the site is doing this page, his credentials, other publications, etc., I would feel comfortable for students to go on this page and find useful information.  I was a little scared of the Twain for President, but when you take a look at the picture, essays, criticisms, etc., it is something you can look past due to all the research the students could do.  The site is very easy to navigate through, the depth of information is amazing, and it is clearly written for someone that is trying to find something specific about Mr. Twain. 

 

Bad Example

William Shakespeare - http://www.shakespeare.com/

* This is the perfect page to take a look at and see that it does not fit one of the criteria of what you would be looking for in a website.  Besides having some of the stories this page is useless, shares no useful information for a student, and would give you no research what-so-ever for a topic.  This is more of a personal home page where others may put their own comments.  The website is currently on hiatus, so there isn’t even anyone maintaining any current information, nor is there nay contact information.  There are no multiple layers of information, credible source, and it is not pleasing to look at.  There is a whole section devoted to selling personal items, which is quite tacky.  There is also a section for plays, etc., there are many many other websites out there that have Shakespeare’s plays and such that are much more reputable.