Week 8 - Module 4: Evaluation and Authentication of Web Recourses, 18th of Sep 2007

Lecture Summary

In today's lecture Justine discussed the key components to look for when visiting websites for information. It is important to evaluate the site to see whether the information it is providing is valuable and worth looking at. Some of the things to look out for are the date of publishing, knowing why the website exits, accuracy (use of references) has the page been signed (authors name) and so on. All these things are important because the last thing we want is to use a site from which the information is not valuable or accurate to our research. Knowing what and how to look for in regards to our search topic makes the process easier whilst saving time. We need to be aware of the sites authenticity and value, some information may be appropriate for one use and not for another. This is referred to as fit -for-use, checking the appropriateness of the information within the site it-self.

Workshop Summary

Task 1: Look at the ICYouSee Critical Thinking page
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think.html and briefly describe the information found in the website.

The site discussed the importance of knowing what exactly it is you are looking for and to understand that not everything is posted on the web and all the information you are looking for may take time to find. You need to be aware of the author's name, does it seem valid, have they given evidence of their sources and be aware that facts may not always be accurate. The way to evaluate whether the information is accurate is to visit other sources to see if the information is the same and compatible with each other. It is important to understand that anyone can post things on the net, try to look for the author and look for any links about the author, the URL should give you some idea as to what kind of site it is and is their any evidence of the authors expertise. Identify the sites purpose, who is it trying to influence? What is it that they want you to know? Is the site informative, persuasive or is it commercialised to advertise a particular idea or product? knowing this will help you to evaluate its content and authenticity. Look at the site, what are your first impressions? Does it look professional? Is the layout well organised? Are their other links and are they easy to use? Is the site interesting and easy to navigate? Be aware that sometimes documents from hand written sources can be posted or re-created on the net. Try to be aware to distinguish whether what you are reading has come from another place and if so, where? Such as a journal article, government report etc.....

Task 2: Complete the "Reliving the Sixties: a Web Site Evaluation Assignment" exercise on the ICYousee website- http://www.ithaca.edu/library/training/think60.thml and evaluate two websites.

Website 1: The Psychedelic Sixties

Detail and Design- Appears very colorful which is expected for a sixties site, the initial page looks very well organised and has the name of what I would assume to be an author as well as a date of publication and when the site was last modified.
Accuracy- There are a number of facts, dates and statistic's which without further research into the topic seem genuine because of the way the sentences are structured, with idea followed by fact.
Purpose- This seems to be unclear, I am honestly confused with the idea of whether the site is trying to inform a negative view on the lifestyle of the sixties or whether it is educating the reader on how awful the sixties were and the reasoning behind it. After reading through various links such as the introduction and the link on the Vietnam war, the purpose is unclear.
Authorship- On the first initial page is states: 1998 by the rector and visitors of the University of Virginia, therefore giving me the impression that if it was created by University students or staff, it may be bias.
Overall worth- I personally would not consider using the site for academic purposes without verifying some of the dates and facts that were stated.

Website 2: A Trip Through The Sixties

Detail and Design- Seems quite colorful without overdoing it; the writing on the first initial page is quite small and there are too many links, first glance is quite confusing because it is not structured very evenly or professionally.
Accuracy- The content appears to be genuine except the number of adds that pop up at the top of each page makes me think that the site is trying to inform readers in an interesting and entertaining manner, therefore it is hard to access the value of the content.
Purpose- Appears to be influencing the reader on the sixties, informing them on how fun and cool that generation was, I do not believe it was created for educational purposes.
Authorship- Under the pages found through the links it states: All content and images 1997-2006 by Hip inc. This does not seem like a genuine author and there is no link to verify whether it is a valuable source.
Overall worth- I don't consider the site a spoof, yet a site used to advertise or inform readers of the sixties in a positive manner. I wouldn't use it for academic purposes because some of the links indicate it is just a funny site. One link for example, led me to what I thought was a photo gallery of pictures from the sixties, yet it contained pictures of paradise locations and a woman pulling a funny face.

Please see screen shot below



Reading Summary not required

Week 7- Module 4: Finding and Using Web-based Resouces, 11th of Sept 2007

Lecture Summary

Today Justine discussed the difference between the World Wide Web (www) and the Net, until it was explained I did not realise there was a difference. The Net refers to the big network from where you can access the (www) it is basically like the generator of the. The Net is like the engine which enables its other links to work. Justine also discussed the importance of recognising the purpose of any site we look at; I never really considered what the .com, .org, .net and so on really stood for. I knew .gov meant it was a government document yet I never considered taking this into account when searching for particular information. From now on this will help me to evaluate at a glance whether the site will be relevant to the topics I am researching and whether the source will be of value.

Workshop Summary

Task 1: Have a look at the following sites and discuss their authenticity with a partner- http://www.haggishunt.scotsman.com/ and http://www.molossia.org/

The first site has a professional layout, yet the name seems a little concerning, Haggis hunt. The home page has a list of haggis cameras which seems a little odd and unreal. The hunt is being commercialised as a prize hunting sport. The site seems like a fake because the concept is not genuine. The wording for the second web address seems unprofessional for a government site, the URL does not contain .gov which should be considered especially because Molossia is being portrayed as a republican society and after the republican date there are three xxx which does not seem appropriate.

Four clues which gave the sites away as being a spoof site

1- The .com and .org indicated the sites where a profit and non profit commercialised site and should not be considered in academic papers, therefore you would assume that the information would be bias and may be inappropriate for serious use.
2- The name of the two sites seem a little odd, I have never heard of the republican of Molossia and Haggis hunt sound like a joke, they really don't seem to be literal things.
3- The content in both seems really inappropriate, as shown below in the Molossia site there was a picture of who they called the Molossia page three girl, I would think that a proper government site would not contain such a picture. In the Haggis hunt site there is a link to the haggis gift shop, again you can tell it is an absolute joke, because what known hunting sport advertises the killing of an animal through shirt and mugs etc....
Screenshot of the Molossia page three girl

4- Both sites do not contain copy right or the name of an author; you would assume especially for a sight about a particular government or society that there would be a copy right stamp on it.
Task 2: Visit the following Web address: http://www.martinlutherking.org/ and record your first interpretation of the site and your findings after visiting the site.

My first initial thought was that the site was going to be about Martin Luther King; the .org indicated it was a non profitable commercialised site designed by an organisation and therefore could portray a bias view towards or against him. I thought it may have been a site that was advertising information about him; not necessarily selling any products, just non profitable advertising.

After visiting the site these were my first impressions:

* It is a site aimed at students
* The site gives an overview of his life and the his history
* It seems to be a site that is used to remember his name
* The importance of his life the impact he had are discussed
* There is a quiz which I assume was designed to engage the reader to revisit their knowledge on Martin Luther King and what ever the reader doesn't know will be found on the site.

As as result of reading through some of the articles it is evident that the site isn't very educational, I believe it is trying to persuade the readers opinion on the kind of person Martin Luther King was. The content and wording seems very opinionated and is not written professionally, it is more of a review then a historical piece of information. At the end of the quiz it said that if you did not answer any questions correctly then you were an ignorant citizen your government desires. I thought this was a little bias and inappropriate, a professional and educational site would not contain such a statement because its based on opinion rather than fact.

Summary of the Readings

There were three readings this week, the first was a guide on how to use different search engines and how to use them productively. It discussed a number of search engines available as well as a guide to the key components to using each search engine. I found this reading hard to understand, much of the content was very unfamiliar to me and I still don't really know what and how these particular search engines are used for. The second reading was a basic review of the history behind the World Wide Web, in regards to who, how and when it all came about discussing the developments which occurred during 1945 to 1955. The third reading also gave an overview of the (www) up until the 1960's, discussing the development of search engines, their use and the various types such as library catalogs, alta vista, northern light and so on.The invention of the email system was also mentioned and the two last readings gave another look into the history of the (www) and its uses.

Week 6 - Module 3:Using EndNote, 4th of September 2007

Lecture Summary

Today's lecture discussed what EndNote is, how to use it, how it works and why it is useful for students to use with assessments. EndNote is a flat-file database which is used to manage and store references from sources where you have collected your information and ideas from. When I first heard about EndNote I thought that it would be difficult to use, however when Justine gave a demonstration on using the database I was impressed to find that the programme is quite easy to use and all you need to do is select the referencing type you want. In my case I would select APA 5Th for ECU referencing, then enter in the details. This is much easier than having to do it manually because for large amounts of references this would become an annoying task. It is a quick and easy way to format your references and it can be stored and managed under your own personal library. Justine expressed the importance of referencing correctly because not only do we have to acknowledge the source, we need to allow the source to be easily accessible for the reader if they seek further information.

Workshop Summary

Our task was to create a reference list using EndNote. The task was quite easy I thought and I can see the benefits this programme will have for my future studies. I did not realise that once you set up your own personal library with EndNote a reference would be automatically created at the end of a document when cited in your writing which forms your bibliography. Below is a screen capture of this weeks tasks, creating references using EndNote and I also copy and pasted the references to a word document in order to see the final product.


EndNote and MS word document with references

Summary of the Readings

There were two basic readings to assist us in the completion of the tasks. The first was an introduction into EndNote and a step to step guide on how to create your own personal library from where you can manage and easily access your references when needed. The second was a help guide for the main problems that may arise when using EndNote and ways in which you can fix it. I thought this was very useful because too often when something goes wrong it is easy to give up what you are doing, because there is no one around that you can ask for assistance and this guide is your answer book for some of the problems you may encounter.