Title.
How to Conduct a Webpage Evaluation
Objective: Given a website and a variety of strategies I should be able to conduct a website evaluation to test for validity.
In the reality of the read and write web known as Wed2.0 where everybody becomes an author, one must develop skills that will enable them to evaluate information found on the web for validity and credibility. As an educator, this is a skill one must be able to pass on to students to demystify the myth that “If found it on the internet then it is the truth.” There are a variety of strategies listed in available resources that can be used to conduct webpage evaluation as explained below using the following example.
The Website: Jacopo di Poggibonsi: http://www.umich.edu/~engtt516/index2.html
Summary: This website features a 14 century Italian Renaissance Painter named Jacopo di Poggibonsi. It is believed that his work included that of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. At the onset the site appears to be very professional and well laid out with a detailed timeline. It is very indicative of what a page on a famous artist should look like.
Purpose: This website would be a source of information for students studying the history medieval art. The purpose of the website would be to provide information about the life and time of the painter as well as featuring some of his art work. The author is Professor Patrizia Simondo of the University of Michigan
· Domain and URL Check
The first hint to the validity of this webpage was the double domain, tilde ~ and ending in .html. The rule of thumb is that a web pages that are more credible often end with .com, .edu, .org, .net etc. The .edu in the first half would give it some credit but that is not enough.
The presence of a tilde ~ in the URL address suggests that the website does not belong to an organization but that of an individual or individuals with similar interest.
The following email address [email protected] was not helpful as it was not connected to a server.
· Who owns the domain?
It would appear credible given that the domain is owned by the University of Michigan as indicated in the URL, however a quick check using http://alexa.com/ revealed that the page is not owned by the University, there was no contact information available, neither were there any official related links. A direct search of the name Professor Patrizia Simondo on the University of Michigan website led to the Mission Statement of the Master Forgers.
· Who is the author?
The information on this website is contributed by Professor Patrizia Simundo from the University of Michigan. It is important to check the credibility of the expertise of the Author. One way to accomplish this is by a simple Google search. A name check in Google revealed that the author does not exist and lead to the following web page that indicated that the site is a hoax.
http://www.umich.edu/~engtt516/masterforgers.html The page simply said “Fooled You”
Failure to find any credentials including educational background or affiliation of the author should be another indication to question the information found on a web page.
· Link Check and sources for further information
One good way to check the validity of a site is to check for and make connections to the available external links provided on the page. One cannot help but take note of the impressive list of resources- which is still not enough to validate the information. Three of the available links were broken or simple does not exist. The others provided information about the Renaissance age and the place called Poggibonsi but no further information about the Artist. It is also important to note that some of lnks opened with a similar interface revealing to us that that the site was a forgery aimed at teaching a valuable lesson.
This search “giorgio vasari + Jacopo di Poggibonsi” led directly back to that page, even though is mentioned selected excerpts from Giorgio Vasari
The “Brittanica” Website is also a fake and cross checks revealed that a few website that made reference to this page was using it as a teaching resource and also listed it as a fake.
· Accuracy of the Information
The professional look and detailed information provided on the site is very misleading. A search of the available links provided presented information that was factual except for the existence of the artist himself. The spelling and grammar is excellent except for the word “Brittianica” which turned out to be a false link. A map even opens up to show the location of Poggibonsi but nothing on the artist. The information had its obvious biased in favor of the life and work of Artist but one could easily become suspicious about the overloaded notes on imitations and forgery . Interestingly it even gave a lecture on the presentation of fake and forged websites on the internet. This tactic however could be very convincing and misleading.
· How current is the information?
The webpage itself was not dated however the links were valid as of November 2000. There are no signs of the webpage being updated on a regular basis. This is another clue that can be used to check resources found on the internet.
· Credentials of the site
Except for the name of the author there was no other avenue on the page to make background checks there was no: About us; Philosophy; Biography; Background.
· Conclusion
Though the information presented on the webpage is fictious, it is quite legitimate. It was created by a group of University students with the help of their professors to teach an invaluable lesson- the need to be able to validate information found on the internet.
Resources :
http://wizard.imsa.edu/tools/evaluate/ http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/eval.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Handouts.html
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