Evaluating Web Pages: Model 1
Web page #1: http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/black_power.html
AUTHORSHIP (i.e. AUTHORITY)
1. What is the domain type (.com? .net? etc.) of this web page and what might
this indicate about the page?
This page is
part of a .org website,
which means the site is run by or sponsored by a non-profit organization, which
indicates that it is not a commercial site and is therefore somewhat more
likely to be reliable information than something from a .com site. (Note: Other domains that tend to contain more reliable information
are .gov—government
sites—and .edu—college
and university sites. Domain types are
just general clues, however, and should never be used by themselves to determine
the quality of a web page.)
2. What is the title
of the website that this page
is part of?
The “Home” button
at the upper left of the page links to the home page for the website, which is
titled: SNCC 1960-1966: Six years of
the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/index.html). This is a relatively small website that is
hosted by a larger website titled: iBiblio (http://www.ibiblio.org
)
3. What organization
or individual(s) is primarily responsible for this website?
HINT: From the home page look for a
link such as “Who we are” or “About us” and follow the link to find a
description of the organization or individual(s) responsible for the site.
The “Who We Are” page (http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/us.html) for the SNCC
1960-1966: Six years of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
website lists four individuals who are responsible for the site: Adam Pawluk, Scott
Griffin, Mark Andrews and Mark Monaco.
4. What is the history,
nature, and purpose of the organization or individual(s) responsible for the website?
All of these people
appear to have been students at the
iBiblio’s “About” page (http://www.ibiblio.org/about.html) states that: “Home to one
of the largest ‘collections of collections’ on the Internet, ibiblio.org is a
conservancy of freely available information, including software, music,
literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. ibiblio.org
is a collaboration of the School of Information and Library Science and the
School of
Journalism and Mass Communication at The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.”
5. Based on your answer to question 4, do you feel
the organization or individual(s) responsible for this website is/are qualified to be presenting information on
this topic?
Since the individuals responsible for this
website (Adam
Pawluk, Scott Griffin, Mark Andrews and Mark Monaco)
were students and this site was probably a student project, I think they are
qualified to be presenting relatively basic information on the topic (which is
what the website presents), but I would question the reliability if they had
presented higher level academic information.
In general, college level academic/research sources should be written
by either a professor, a professional researcher, a
graduate student or other recognized expert in the field. (Note: Sometimes articles by professional
journalists from well-known magazines or newspapers may be acceptable, but magazine
and newspaper articles are generally considered “popular sources” and are
usually not considered appropriate for college-level research papers. One
other type of source that would definitely be a good source for an academic
research paper is a primary source, which is something written during
the historic period that is being researched.
Examples of primary sources are documents, letters, and newspapers from
the time.)
Return
to your assigned web page to answer the remaining questions.
6. What is the name of the individual(s) or
organization primarily responsible for writing this page?
NOTE: In some cases, the individual(s) or
organization who wrote the larger website is the same individual(s) or organization
responsible for writing the page.
Same authors as for the website.
NOTE: If no author
is given, please state that fact in the answer line above and skip to question
9.
7. What information does the
page provide about the author?
(education, occupation, experience, membership in professional
organizations, other credentials, etc.)
From the “Who We Are” page (http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/us.html):
Adam Pawluk
graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in
journalism and political science in May 2000. He is originally from
8. Based on your answer to question 7,
what do you conclude about the credibility of the author? Do you think this author is likely to be seen
as a qualified, informed author on this topic?
Why or why not?
Since the individuals responsible for this were students and this site was
probably a student project, I think they are qualified to be presenting
relatively basic information on the topic (which is what the website presents),
but I would question the reliability if they had presented higher level
academic information. In general, college
level academic/research information should be written by either a professor, a
professional researcher, a graduate student or other recognized expert in the
field.
***** GO TO QUESTION 10 *****
Answer question 9 only if no author is given:
9. What can you conclude about the
credibility and/or usefulness of this web page given the fact that no author is
given?
10.
WEB PAGE CONTENT
Evaluate the research quality of this page by discussing the content
(i.e. the text) being presented. Try to write at least one thoughtful
sentence about each of the following criteria as they pertain to your web page.
Criteria 1: Length and substance of
the text: Does this page provide a substantive, in-depth discussion of
the topic, or merely a cursory, superficial overview? Is this a brief “sound-bite,” or a longer,
more in-depth analysis? (In general, a
page with less than 10 medium-length paragraphs of text would be considered
brief.)
The information provided is a relatively brief
overview-- just four paragraphs long.
Criteria
2: Author’s purpose: Is this a
straightforward summary or overview of the topic, such as you would find in an
encyclopedia article? Or is the author
presenting a new interpretation, view, or explanation of the topic?
The information provided is a relatively brief
overview—like a short encyclopedia article.
Criteria 3: Academic quality and reading
level of the text: Is this a serious, complex, detailed, academic
treatment of the topic, or is it lighter “popular” discussion geared for the
general public?
It is a lighter “popular” discussion geared for
the general public.
Criteria 4: Originality of the text: Is this original writing, or is it copied and compiled from
other sources and websites? Is this
primarily a list of links?
The writing appears to be original. Doing a Google search on a selection of text
from the page did not identify any other page with the same text.
Criteria 5: Objectivity: Is
the text primarily personal opinion rather than an objective discussion? If the text is primarily opinion, is this
clearly stated, i.e. is the author forthcoming about the fact that he/she is
presenting a subjective view of the topic?
Does the author acknowledge that there might be other worthy points of
view?
The text appears to be relatively objective and
factual. It doesn’t appear to be
presenting a subjective viewpoint, but there is no mention of different points
of view on the topic.
Criteria 6: Advertising: Does
the page feature advertising? If so, what might that reveal about the
seriousness and objectivity of the information being presented? If no
advertisements are present, write “N/A.”
There is no advertising on the page or anywhere
on the site.
Criteria 7: Documentation: Has
the author used authoritative sources to back up his/her arguments, facts, and
conclusions? If so, are these sources
cited in some way, i.e. does the author provide citations and/or a
bibliography? Do these sources appear to
be authoritative?
There is no
documentation for the specific information on the page, but there is a link to
a page of References (http://www.ibiblio.org/sncc/references.html) from
the site’s home page. The citations on the References page are not very
complete, but they seem to be credible sources, including some primary
sources—original documents from SNCC and Interviews taken
from the Southern Oral History Project at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill—and numerous published books.
11. Taking into account all the specifics of the evaluation you’ve now
completed (i.e. authorship and content), is this web page appropriate for a college-level research
project in terms of overall research quality, credibility, and
authoritativeness? Please give a
clear explanation.
This page is part of an undergraduate student
project and the content is relatively limited and general information. It is not appropriate for using in a
college-level research project because it is not written by a professor, a professional
researcher, a graduate student or other recognized expert in the field. But the authors seem to have used credible
sources to write the page and the SNCC site is part of very respectable larger
university website so it appears that the page is useful for providing general
background information.
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