The reliability and quality of information from Web sources has created much debate in the academic world.
Browse the following websites on human cloning:
Cloning Fact Sheet
Human Cloning-Embryo Style
Clonaid
State Human Cloning Laws
Together with a partner, evaluate the reliability and credibility of each site, using Cornell University's Five Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages as a guide. Which sites would be appropriate sources for academic research?
The Cornell site summarizes the application of the Five Criteria for evaluating websites as follows:
* Accuracy. If your page lists the author and institution that published the page and provides a way of contacting him/her and . . .
* Authority. If your page lists the author credentials and its domain is preferred (.edu, .gov, .org, or .net), and, . .
* Objectivity. If your page provides accurate information with limited advertising and it is objective in presenting the information, and . . .
* Currency. If your page is current and updated regularly (as stated on the page) and the links (if any) are also up-to-date, and . . .
* Coverage. If you can view the information properly--not limited to fees, browser technology, or software requirement, then . . .
You may have a Web page that could be of value to your research!
Check out the Santa Monica College Library site for more detailed information about Web research analysis.
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23 comments:
Kate+ Marcus
Cloning Fact Sheet: Set up by the government, last updated Aug 2006. Mostly reliable.
CBHD: Provides the author, from 2001, though.
Clonaid: Not a reliable source
State Human Cloning Laws: Gov't source, reliable
The first source - Cloning fact sheet - I would say is reliable and a good source.
The second source - Human Cloning-Embryo Style - Is a decent source but I dont think I would use it for an academic source.
The third source - Clonaid - is not a good or reliable source.
The final source - Human cloning laws - provides acurate information and a good source for academic writing.
The Cloning fact sheet is a reliable souce. It gives good statistics and is updated regularly.
CBHD provides an author that seems to know what she is talking about but the copyright is 6 years ago.
Clonaid is just an ad.
State humman cloning is a good source to see where you state stands on the cloning topic. It's a government related site and I belive the laws that are stated.
The first site is appropriate for academic research. It is a .gov site, has ways of contacting them, is objective in presenting its information and is updated fairly recenently.
The second site would be appropriate for academic research, but not as your main source. It is a .org site, has ways of contacting, it is not a mask for advertising and has authority. The only problem is that it is from 2001, so some things have probably changed since then.
The fourth site would also be appropriate for academic reseach. It is another .org site, has ways of contacting, has authority, the page is not a mask for advertising and the site has been updated fairly recently.
Jameela and Juliet
Cloning Fact Sheet- Reliable, all 5 criteria match
CBHD: Seems reliable, except it's from 2001. Could be more current.
Clonaid: Not Reliable. No information presented or credibility
State Human Cloning Laws: Reliable, it's a government source
Cloning Fact Sheet: reliable
-accurate: long list of sources and provides a contact list.
-authority: author's credentials are not shown, but is a .gov
-objectivity: there is no advertising on the page for random products/services
-currency: the page is quite current, it was last modified Tuesday, August 29, 2006
-coverage: no fees to view the site
Human Cloning-Embryo Style: reliable
-accurate: provides author and her credentials
-authority: .org site
-objectivity: good source of information; no outside ads
-currency: quite current, copyright 2001
-coverage: no fees to enter the website
Clonaid: unreliable
The site is trying to sell a product. The information could be biased since the founder is trying to get people to invest in his product.
State Human Cloning Laws: reliable
-accuracy: provides contact info for more information
-authority: .org site
-objectivity: no outside advertisements
-currency: quite recent, updated April 18,2006
-coverage: no fees to view the site, information can be viewed easily.
cloning fact sheet: government source, last updated august 29, 2006, very relaible source.
Human Cloning-Embryo Style: author -- nancy jones, post date nov. of 2001, semi-reliable but not up-to-date.
Clonaid: not reliable at all
State Human CLoning Laws: government source, updated April 18, 2006, reliable source.
Zack Hund and Matt Miller
Cloning Fact Sheet
1. Accuracy: On the left side of the website, it gives a link to contact the website directors.
2. Authority: The website link is .gov
3. Objectivity: The website contains no ads, and the only external links are really to direct you to websites relating to this information of having to do with the topic itself, either for information or reference
4. Currency: The website was last modified August of last year, and the articles it links to are mainly from the early 2000s.
5. Coverage: You can freely view the website and all of its coverage is clearly readable, if you need software to view the pdf files it contains, then it gives you the option to download acrobat reader.
State Human Cloning Laws
1. Accuracy: At the bottom of the page it gives you this : For more information, please contact: Alissa Johnson, NCSL, Health Program”
2. Authority: The link is to ncsl.org, which is the National Conference of State Legislation which is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation’s 50 states.
3. Objectivity: The website page contains no ads and the external links have to do with more relative information
4. Currency: The webpage was last modified in April of last year; however the website is copyrighted in 2007.
5. Coverage: There are no fees or ads to view the webpage, and you can clearly read all of the information without needing more programs.
Clonaid- Fake cloning company
CBHD- Old source, and biased
Megan and Zac J.
The sites we believe are reliable:
Cloning Fact Sheet
Human Cloning-Embryo Style
State Human Cloning Laws
Cloning Fact Sheet
Accuracy- The site has the author and a “contact us” link.
Authority- It is a .gov site.
Objectivity- There is no advertising and the information seems credible and accurate.
Currency- It was last updated August 29, 2006.
Coverage- There are no fees or technology that is required to view the information.
Human Cloning-Embryo Style
Accuracy- It has the author, the institution, and a link to a bio about the author.
Authority- It is a .org site.
Objectivity- There is no advertising and the information is accurate, but opinionated.
Currency- It was published in 2001 and hasn’t been updated since.
Coverage- There are no fees or technology that is required to view the information.
State Human Cloning Laws
Accuracy- It provides the name of the institution and sources.
Authority- It is a .org site.
Objectivity- There is no advertising and the information is accurate.
Currency- It is updated regularly (last time was 2007).
Coverage- There are no fees or technology that is required to view the information.
1) looks pretty good to me, thorough information, simple layout
2) Not too bad, but perhaps slightly dated, though who knows how much has advanced in the field of cloning over the past half decade
3) Dude, what is this? It's some weird product thing, I see no credible information on this!
4) It's a government source, so I think it's good...
Article One: .gov, last updated Aug 2006, no direct author or e-mail, but its set up by the gov. Reliable.
Article Two: Author provided, .org, posted Nov 2001. Seems Reliable.
Article Three: No author/contact, .com, mainly an add. NOT Reliable.
Article Four: Contact Info/author, .org, April 2006. Reliable
Cloning Fact Sheet: Since it's a government website, it's pretty legit.
CBHD: I think it's a little old (2001) to be used, but it's a decent source.
Clonaid: It's just and ad; not reliable at all.
State-Human Cloning laws: Again, a government site so it's legit. Also it's recent: 2006.
Cloning fact sheet: government website, fairly recent, good links and contacts-probably reliable
CBHD: Gives author and credentials, but is very biased and outdated.-somewhat reliable, but probably not good for academic writing.
Clonaid: sells a cell fusion device, asks for your name, address, and occupation...it's a scam.
Human Cloning Laws: Government page-updated regularly and reliable
Cloning Fact Sheet - sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Human Genome Program ****Reliable***
Human Cloning-Embryo Style - Old news but at the time it would have been reliable given the Copyright 2001 by The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity and a way to contact the author**Reliable- wouldn't use**
Clonaid - The most interesting site I got to read. Almost busted out the checkbook till I realized their latest news is from 2004 **Not Reliable**
State Human Cloning Laws - © 2007 National Conference of State Legislatures. Recent, Gov't orientated **Reliable**
Cloning Fact Sheet: I'd say it's a reliable source since it's posted by the government and it has a recent update on the page.
CBHD: Good for information, but it is 6 years old. But I would still use it for gathering more information on my topic.
Clonaid: Not the best source out there. This website seems like an ad for their product.
State Human Cloning Laws: This site provides accurate information but to only the laws some states. Good for academic research.
Cloning fact sheet: Reliable and up to date source, with contact information
CBHD: This source is only good for citing one woman's opinion. Written in 2001, alot has changed since then
Clonaid: Not reliable, obviously they are biased toward one side of the argument. Its also a site with products for sale... they are trying to make money, not necessarily report the whole truth.
State human cloning: Good source, up to date, contact information, and produced by state gov
Cloning fact sheet: This is a good site for research, although Some links are not working, this is a government site which makes it credible.
Human Cloning-Embryo Style: Good source because it is from an organization and it is up to date.
Clonaid: not a good source. There is no author and no way of saying if it is written by a legitimate author.
State Human Cloning Laws: This is a good source because the site ends in .org and it gives a link and contact information if you wanted to check up on the information.
Emily Rentschler
Cloning Fact Sheet: It's a government site and updated in Aug 2006 so I would say it is a good source.
CBHD: It's an ok source because the author is provided, but the year is 2001 so it probably needs a more recent update. The researcher should look for another more recent site.
Clonaid: It's not reliable because it is just an ad.
State-Human Cloning laws: It is a government site and is recent. I would say it is a reliable source.
The first source seemed to be a pretty reliable and a good source to use.
The second source was good for general information but im not sure if I would use as an acutal "academic" source
The third source is definately not reliable
The fourth source is an excellent source
The first source- is a decent source to use and i believe could be used as a reliable source
The second source- seems to be a good source as general information or background information, but i wouldn't use it as an "academic" source
The third source- is definately not a good source
The fourth source- very reliable and would be a good source
The first source- is a decent source to use and i believe could be used as a reliable source
The second source- seems to be a good source as general information or background information, but i wouldn't use it as an "academic" source
The third source- is definately not a good source
The fourth source- very reliable and would be a good source
Cloning Fact Sheet: Since it was set up by the government, last updated Aug 2006. probably pretty reliable.
CBHD: Provides the author, from 2001, New Info might be available
Clonaid: Not a reliable source... Didn't they claim they'd cloned a human a few years ago?
State Human Cloning Laws: Another Government source, reliable
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