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Thinking Critically About A Website |
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WHO? * Who created the website? * What is the author's authority? (How do we know he/she is knowledgeable and reliable?) * Who owns/sponsors the website? * Who is the intended audience? (Children? Scholars? The general public?) * Who links to the website? (Has anyone considered this site important enough to link to? One way to find this is by doing a Google search consisting of Link:http// and so on.)
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WHAT? * What type of website is this? (A journal article, a magazine article, a government website, a commercial website, an organization website, a personal page, etc.) * Is the information relevant to your topic? * Is the information accurate?
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WHEN? * When was the web page created? * When was it last updated? * How old is the data? * Are the links current?
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WHY? * What was the author's purpose in creating the website? (To persuade, to make money, to inform, to entertain, to get tenure, etc.)
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WHERE? * In what country is the author/owner? * In what domain is the website? (.com, .mil, .org, .edu, etc.) * Where does the URL lead? (try erasing everything to the right of the last /)
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HOW? * Is the website well-designed? (Easy to use, attractive, reliable) * Is there a privacy policy described? * If necessary, does the website have security?
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How To Evaluate A Website |
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| SOME GOOD ADVICE: How to Evaluate A Web Page (CSU Libraries) Evaluating Web Sites (Cornell University) Evaluating Web Pages: (UC Berkeley Libraries)
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SOME EXAMPLES (GOOD AND BAD): Large Marine Ecosystem Concept Toxic Plastics Chemical in Infant Formula Presidential Forum at Lake Tahoe California's Velcro Crop Under Challenge DiHydrogen Monoxide Research Division
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Concerning Plagiarism |
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Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It (Indiana University) Avoiding Plagiarism (Hamilton) |
Here is an exercise on plagiarism you might wish to try. |
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