Week 6 Blog

Lecture Summary:

Evaluation & Authentication:


Introduction:


What is information quality - data that is “fit-for-use”


The context of the World Wide Web

• Open protocols – swift and convenient information exchange, information published on the web bypasses traditional filters used to ensure information quality


• Open architecture – no enforceable quality control, no enforced classification, dynamic/fluid content structure


• The context of the world wide web – no control of who publishes on the WWW relates to authorship, authority and authenticity, why publishers publish on the WWW relates to bias, accuracy and trustworthiness, what is published on the WWW relates to currency, reliability and coverage.

Evaluating information quality on the WWW

• What are you measuring – content, visual feel, navigation, ease-of-use


• Why does the information resource exist – provide unique insight into the type of content, level of content, and bias of content


• Accuracy – anyone can publish anything on the web, web resources rarely have editors or fact checkers, no web standards exist to ensure accuracy


• Authority – anyone can publish anything on the web, even if a page is signed qualifications aren’t usually given, sponsorship isn’t usually indicated


• Objectivity – frequently the goals of the sponsors/authors aren’t clearly stated, often the web serves as a virtual soapbox


• Currency – publication or revision dates not always provided, dates provided can often have various meanings


• Coverage – web coverage often differs from print coverage, it is difficult to determine the extent of coverage

Questions to ask to aid in determine the quality of a web page:

• Is it reliable and error free?


• Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?


• Is there an author? Is the page signed?


• Is the author qualified? Who is the sponsor? Are they reputable?


• Does it contain bias? Is it designed to sway opinion?


• Is the page dated? When the page was last updated? Are there expired links?


• What are the topics covered? What does it offer that is not found elsewhere?

Quick tips to ensure quality – is it a personal page or site? Is the domain name appropriate for the content? Published by a source that makes sense? Can you see who wrote the page? Is it recent?

Perform a background search on the page, find information about the site host, and research the page author

Why was the page put on the web? Does it serve its purpose? Is it appropriate?

Workshop Write Up:

Visit the ICYouSee website http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html and describe the strategies it offers to effectively use the web.

1. Make sure you are in the right place – ask yourself why are using the web, research is still available on the web, but it is harder to find as the web grows more commercial


2. When in doubt, doubt – accuracy is not easy to confirm, evaluate information that seems untrustworthy, never accept an authors word always check for a second opinion


3. Consider the source – try to find out who actually wrote the page, not just their name but their academic background, are they credible?


4. Know what’s happening – try to identify the reason the web page was created, what is its purpose to persuade, inform, or evaluate?


5. Look at details – check for clues to authenticity, good grammar and spelling, scholarly references should not contain errors.

Compare my findings with the information listed on the INCO 48 website http://www.taftcollege.edu/newTC/Academic/INCO48/sec6-4.htm contains information regarding the Ten C’s for evaluating internet sources the ten C’s are:

1. Content – what is the intent of the content, is the author identified, is it scholarly


2. Credibility – is the author known? , what is the purpose, what is the URL extension .edu, .gov, etc


3. Critical Thinking – can you identify author, publisher, edition etc


4. Copyright – copyright rules must be respected


5. Citation – internet sources must be cited to give credit to the original author


6. Continuity – is the internet site regularly updated an maintained? Dead links?


7. Censorship – are certain topics, keywords censored by your sites governing body?


8. Connectivity – what type of configuration would a user need to access the particular site


9. Comparability – does it contain comparable, and complete information


10. Context – can you find opinion or bias within your website how is it positioned?

Complete the Reliving the sixties: a website evaluation found at http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think60.html

Accuracy – contains accurately sourced information

Authorship – Stanley K. Schultz, and William P. Tishler, reputable authors also given it is a site dedicated to American history if it was incorrect it would not be active for long as the moderators would have realised this an removed it if it contained unverified information about the united states

Purpose – to present information regarding the history and events that occurred in the United States over the course of their history

Detail & Design – contains sufficient detail, enough to satisfy the reader’s question, and is designed to look like a note book containing information learned