INSTRUCTIONS
Website Evaluation (100 points towards Final Grade)
Assignment Expectations:
As part of your Research Project, the second assignment requirement expects students to complete a Website Evaluation of TWO websites that are acceptable for college-level academic research and contain information related to their research topic.
For this assignment, students will use a search engine of their choice (e.g., Google or Bing) to find appropriate websites related to their topics. After selecting, reviewing and analyzing your two websites, students should write a 250-word analysis for each website.
Keep reading to find out more about where to find websites for this assignment and what your analysis should include. As always, if you have questions, please feel free to reach out to your instructor via email.
But First, What Exactly is a Website Evaluation?:
There is a great deal of information available on the web and you can do much of your research from your computer. However, not everything on the web is suitable for academic research. This assignment will help you evaluate web sites that you find on the free web.
Before you start your Web Site Evaluation assignment, read the UMGC Library guidelines for evaluating Web resources, “Is My Source Credible,” to determine whether the contents are of high quality and acceptable for college-level academic research:
https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/evaluating-sources.cfm and then view their video “Evaluating Web sites”:
When evaluating a Web site, also ask yourself, does the Web site present information that is objective and neutral as possible, or is the Web site presenting biased, one-sided information?
Depending on your research project, it may be appropriate for you to use biased information.
When evaluating a Web site, you should also ask, is the information on the Web site accurate?
Compare the information on the Web site with knowledge you have gained from other sources in the course of your research, to see if the Web site contains errors.
Compare the information in a Web site with scholarly articles you have read in library databases, with reference books and so on.
Does the Web site give sources for the information it presents, sources you can look up and verify?
Timeliness is another important factor, especially if you are researching a subject in which knowledge can change rapidly, like health and medicine, business or technology.
Does the Web site date its information? If so, is the information is current enough for the topic you are researching?
https://www.umgc.edu/current-students/learning-resources/writing-center/writing-resources/evaluating-sources.cfm
Assignment Directions:
After selecting, reading and analyzing your websites, make sure each analysis follows the format below and includes the following information.
Website Analysis should include:
Format:
Each Website Analysis should be typed in a word document, with 1-inch margins, double spaced, and include no less than 250 words.
Bibliography:
At the top of each Website Analysis, students should provide a complete bibliographic entry.
This complete bibliographic entry should include a formal citation, including the URL and your date of access. You should note that the required style for this class is Chicago Humanities Style (not the author/date variant).
The Effective Writing Center created a short overview on using Chicago Humanities Style called “Brief Guide to Citing Sources in Chicago.”
It includes a list of sources formatted in this style. The examples labeled N=footnote/endnote format and those labeled B=bibliographic entry.
A copy of this guide is located in the Writing Resources section of Course Resources under Content of this LEO class site.
Analysis and Content:
Each Website Analysis should include a detailed summary of the main points of the article – in your own words.
Ultimately, this should be written within the first two paragraphs of your analysis and include:
Describe the content and purpose of the website
Determine the author, accuracy of information presented and website’s currency.
Explain in detail how and why you determined the site is acceptable for use in an academic research paper
Each website analysis should explain how the content pertains to your research
Explain how the site relates to your research topic or what you found on the site that relates to your topic
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