DCLS Website Reliability Training - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
27
DCLS Website Reliability Training As we rely more and more on information from the World Wide Web, the responsibility of determining a website’s trustworthiness falls on us. The following presentation offers some useful clues to look for and things to think about as you navigate your way through the Web. Instructions •Please view this PowerPoint in slideshow mode to ensure that all the links work •You will see a picture of a website. Investigate the website for clues to its reliability. •When you see your cursor to change to a pointing finger, you’ll know that you can click on that spot for more information Begi n
Transcript
DCLS Website Reliability Training
As we rely more and more on information from the World Wide Web, the responsibility of determining a website’s trustworthiness falls on us. The following presentation offers some useful clues to look for and things to think about as you navigate your way through the Web.
Instructions•Please view this PowerPoint in slideshow mode to ensure that all the links work•You will see a picture of a website. Investigate the website for clues to its reliability.•When you see your cursor to change to a pointing finger, you’ll know that you can click on that spot for more information
Begin
Is this website reliable?What clues can you find?Click here to visit the actual website.
Opening the listed pages from this this website will bring you to a collection of links. But you’ll notice most of them aren’t links at all. They don’t even go to another page within the website. And the few external links lead to pages that never mention RYT Hospital, Dwayne Medical Center or anything else at all listed here.
Back to the web page slide
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Outrageous Claims
Don’t you think there would be more press about male pregnancy or a pill that would let you get away with only 12 minutes of sleep a night?When you see claims like this, see if you can find corroborating information. In the case of the male pregnancy, the man shown here is Lee Minwei, a performance artist based in New York and Berkeley.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page slide
Log In, But No Sign Up
OK, great that you can log into an account. But where do you to sign up for an account in the first place?
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page slide
Meaningless graphics
What is this thing? It looks cool, sure, but what does it do? Why is it on the webpage? There isn’t a caption or an explanation or anything.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page slide
Shady URL
It’s 2011. It’s been 2011 for several months now. Why does this URL still say 2008? What would happen if you typed in the web address www.rythospital.com/2009 or www.rythospital.com/2010?
Back to the web page slide
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Unreliable
There are too many things wrong with this website. Outrageous claims, meaningless graphics, no way to create an account, the external links never mention RYT Hospital or Dwayne Medical Center. In short, don’t let the professional look fool you. This page is no good for information.
Next
Is this website reliable?What clues can you find?Click here to go to the actual website.
This was last updated in 2008, but was the article written in 2008, or was the page published in 2008? A page that hasn’t been updated in a long time is a warning sign. Even if its subject matter isn’t rapidly changing, it’s an indication that the website isn’t maintained.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Real Citation
This is a real article in a real journal. Although the article itself is not publicly available on a web search, you can find citations and abstracts with a quick Google search.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Who is “Alcohol in Moderation?”
Who is this group? Do they have a specific agenda? What’s their purpose in posting a webpage like this?According to their homepage, AIM is “an independent not for profit organisationwhose role is to communicate ‘The Responsible Drinking Message.’”While the group appears to consist of various doctors, professors and experts, their external links also direct readers to the websites of various lobbying groups for the alcoholic beverage industry.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Questionable or counter-intuitive claims
While this certainly isn’t as outrageous as male pregnancy, it still contradicts conventional wisdom. It would be useful to find other sources that could corroborate this claim before accepting it.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
What’s in a URL
AIM stands for “Alcohol In Moderation.” It matches the name of the group who created the website.
.com means that this is a commercial site. When you see this, try to understand what they want to sell you.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Needs Further Study
This webpage cites a real article in a real journal, and that certainly helps its case. But the group in charge of the website has too many questionable associates in its external links page and the assertion is too counter-intuitive.It would require further research to corroborate or refute the claims made here. Next
Is this website reliable?What clues can you find?Click here to go to the actual website.
Who created this page?The Exploratorium is a science and art museum in San Francisco. Museum sites can be authoritative sources of information.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
What’s in a URL?
Normally, only institutions of higher education are allowed to use the .edu domain. That rule was established in October 2001. However, many museums and other educational institutions were also using .edu before then. If you see .edu attached to a museum website, it means that the museum was using this web address before October 2001, and they were simply grandfathered in after the rule changed.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
No adsMany websites are more interested in selling ad space than in providing quality information. A website without ads is generally a good sign.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
ReliableThis website was developed by an authoritative source, the Exploratorium. In addition, it’s .edu domain indicates its educational nature.And the fact that nobody’s trying to sell you anything on this page establishes some trust.The information found here can be considered reliable.
Next
Is this website reliable?What clues can you find?Click here to go to the actual website.
iwr.com? Who the heck is IWR? The product they’re trying to sell is called Becalmd and it’s manufactured by a company called NeuroGenesis, Inc. IWR doesn’t match either of those. When the web address and the product/company don’t match, it’s a big warning sign.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Marketing marketing marketing
These guys really want to sell you some of this stuff. They’re telling you it’s a cure-all for everything from alcoholism to a lack of concentration. And it’s safe for kids to boot.If it reminds you of 19th century patent medicine, it’s probably not a reliable product or a reliable source of information either.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Scientifically speaking
The “scientific” explanation of this product contains a lot of big words, a pretty graph and a number of grammatical errors. More interestingly, it doesn’t contain a single citation or information source. One of the trademarks of modern scientific work is the meticulous citing of sources. The fact that these people don’t cite their sources in the “scientifically speaking” section makes me very suspicious of their science.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
Who’s selling this?
This website isn’t even run by the people who manufacture the product. It’s a separate vendor. And by the vendor’s name, it seems they’re more interested in selling than in nutrition.
So what do you think? ReliableorUnreliable
Back to the web page
UnreliableThis is a website that’s more interested in selling you something than in providing reliable information.The heavy-handed marketing, the inconsistencies in the URL and the names in the website and the lack of proper attribution in the “scientific” essays all point to an unreliable website.
Next
Good Job! You made it.
To Sum Up, Always Ask…
•Don’t forget to check the URL, too•Find out more about the organization if you don’t know
anything about themWho created the site?
•Are they selling you something, persuading or informing?
•Are there lots of ads all over the page?What’s their purpose?
•Do they offer any citations or sources for their information?
•Is the information current? When was it last updated?Do they back up their claims?
