For website evaluation, look at all of the pages of the website.
Part 1:
Part 1:
Go to http://www.ushmm.org/. Evaluate the website to determine if it is
appropriate for use in research by using the following criteria. Copy and paste
Part 1 into your document. Write at least one sentence to answer each question to elaborate
on how you reached your conclusion. (Yes
it is, or no it isn't are not acceptable answers.) Use more than one sentence
if needed to answer each question thoroughly.
1. Scope and Subject Matter
- What
subject is covered?
This website provides
information about the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as
resources to inform individuals about the events surrounding the Holocaust. The
subject addressed on this website is genocide that occurred during the Holocaust
in World War II.
- What
is the purpose of the site?
The purpose of this website is to tell the public about the
United States Holocaust Museum. One of the missions of the museum is to
“empower people worldwide to confront hatred” by educating them on the events
of the past and bringing attention to current events. This site also helps to
educate individuals about the events of the Holocaust and to bring attention to
other cases of genocide around the world in an effort to prevent future
genocide events.
- Who
is the intended audience?
It appears that the intended audience for this website is
everyone from Students and Educators to Professionals and Communities of Faith.
- What
is the intended age or academic level?
It appears that the website is designed for students in at least
the middle school or high school age bracket, up to college level. There are
lesson resources for educators that are designed for middle school or high
school students to teach them about the events of the Holocaust.
- Is the information unique, or
is it available in other places?
While information
about the Holocaust is available other places, this website offers a very
comprehensive collection of information and resources for not only the
Holocaust, but genocide events around the globe. According to the information
on the site, it is “the world’s leading online authority on the Holocaust, is
available in 15 languages and was visited in 2014 by more than 9 million people
representing 236 countries and territories”.
2. Authority - Hint: Read the "About Us" section of the
webpage to check for authority.
- What
are the credentials of the author(s)/organization who produced the site?
The United States Holocaust Memorial Council (“established by
Congress in 1980”) is the governing board of the museum. It is composed of “55
members that are appointed by the President”, along with “five members from
both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives” and “three ex-officio
members from the Department of Education, Interior, and State”. The museum is
the organization responsible for creating and maintaining the website. Sara J.
Bloomfield has served as the director of the museum since 1999. She also serves
on the “International Auschwitz Council, the board of the International Council
of Museums/USA (ICOM/USA), and the advisory board of the Robert Bernstein
Institute for Human Rights at New York University School of Law”.
- Is
contact information for the author(s)/organization provided? Hint: Read
the "Contact Us" section of the webpage to check for contact
information.
There is an option available to contact the museum through an
online email system. In addition, the museum has a Facebook page, a Twitter
feed, a YouTube Channel, and a Pinterest page. There is also a phone number and
email address provided for General Museum Information and Member Services,
while contact information for specific individuals is provided for various
inquiries related to different aspects of the museum.
- Is
it reputable? How do you know?
Yes, I believe the information to be reputable because of the
background information provided about the museum and the number of visitors to
the site. According to the information on the “Facts and Figures” page (which
shows to have been last updated in March of 2015), the website had over “18.5
million visits in 2014” not to mention the “290 thousand email subscribers” and
numerous followers on the museum’s social media pages.
- Is
this site mainly designed for product promotional purposes, or is it
mainly designed for informational purposes?
This site is designed for informational purposes because there
not product promotional ads on the website. There is a section of the site that
informs visitors about ways that they can support the museum and its goals, as
well as a page to make online donations. However, these are not the main focus
on the home page of the website.
- Does
the address, specifically the domain, suggest the perspective from which
the site was designed? For example, ".edu," ".com,"
".gov" respectively imply education, commercial, and government
origins.
The website’s address is www.ushmm.org. The .org suggests that it is a site designed to represent a
non-for-profit organization and that is what this site represents.
- Is appropriate attribution
given where required?
Yes, I feel that
appropriate attribution is given in regard to the elements of the museum’s
collection and exhibits that are available to view both online and in person.
3. Currency and Completeness
- When
was the site last updated, and is this done regularly?
From the information that I examined, the site appears to be
updated on a regular basis. There is a page entitled “Today at the Museum” that
was updated with information and activities for the date that I viewed this
website, which was April 11, 2015. Other dates that I noticed in regards to
updating information was on a “Facts and Figures” page that showed to have been
updated last in March of 2015.
- How
current are the links? Do they work?
I would say that the links are most likely current. Of the links
that I tried, every one worked to take me to an additional page or resource.
- Does the site thoroughly cover
the topic?
I feel as though this
website thoroughly covers the topic of the Holocaust, as well as other past and
current genocide events.
4. Design
- Are
the resources well organized and logically presented?
The resources on this website are extremely well organized and
presented in a user friendly format. On the right side of the home page, there
are four general categories for information resources: “museum information,
resources for academics and research, resources for educators, and resources
for professionals and students”. By clicking on any of these four categories,
visitors can further explore these topics and more detailed resources by
clicking on additional menu options.
- Are
the text and background color choices contrasting enough for the text to
be easily read?
The information on this website is easily readable due to the
contrast between the dark background and white font found on the homepage. The
main information pages for each category are contrasted with a white background
and dark colored text, but still very readable.
- Are
the graphics clear and relevant to the information being provided?
All of the graphics on this site can be seen easily against the
background of the page and appear relevant to the information being highlighted
on that particular part of the website.
- Is
multimedia provided? If so, is it appropriate for the site?
Multimedia is provided on this website. On the homepage of the
site, there is a slideshow highlighting four topics of importance in relation
to the mission of the museum. Further exploration of topics presents visitors
with access to online exhibitions of collections that include photo slide shows,
as well as audio and video clips relaying information about specific topics
related to the Holocaust. For instance, there are interviews with survivors, as
well as links to videos highlighting the events that occurred during this time
period and current global genocide issues as well. Every multimedia aspect that
I encountered in my exploration of this site seemed appropriate for the site
and the content being presented.
5. Ease of Use
- Is
the site user friendly with an effective interface?
I found the site to be very user friendly and with an effective
interface. Navigation to different parts of the site was not difficult and it
is designed in such a way that users can find information quickly and
efficiently.
- Is
the site open to everyone? Or do some sections require registration or
payment?
Just as the museum is open to everyone and does not require an
admission fee, from what I explored, all sections of the website are free for
everyone to access.
- In
what language is the site written? If the information is translated, what
other languages are given?
The website is written in English, but translations are
available in 14 other languages. Here is a list of the languages that the
website can be viewed in: English home page Show language options
- Are
special needs users considered in the design? For example, are alternate
text descriptions provided for the visually impaired? How will the page
function for hearing impaired users? Hint: Look for a transcript.
On the page entitled “Website Accessibility”, it states that
“the museum wants its website to be accessible to all who wish to use it” and
that they “make every effort to be compliant with the Section 508 and W3C
accessibility guidelines”. Currently, it has “descriptive text equivalents for
all images and graphics, can be successfully read with screen readers, and can
be read and navigated with text-only browsers such as Lynx”. They are working
on offering “synchronized open captions for video and audio” soon, but those
features are unavailable at this point. In addition, they offer suggestions for
visitors on how to adjust the size of the text, font or background colors on
the site. The final part of this page offers information on how to contact the
museum if an individual has difficulty viewing the website.
Part 2:
Score each of the following websites using the criteria below. Copy Part 2 and paste it in your document. For each website, tell the total score the website received based on the criteria. Total possible score is four for each website.
The site is sponsored by a highly-reputable business, professional organization, museum, university, or a United States government department or agency.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The site has been created or updated within the last six months.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The domain is .gov, .org, or from a well-known reputable organization or company, or the domain is .edu and the faculty maintain the site.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The purpose of the website is to present factual information.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
A. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Score each of the following websites using the criteria below. Copy Part 2 and paste it in your document. For each website, tell the total score the website received based on the criteria. Total possible score is four for each website.
The site is sponsored by a highly-reputable business, professional organization, museum, university, or a United States government department or agency.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The site has been created or updated within the last six months.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The domain is .gov, .org, or from a well-known reputable organization or company, or the domain is .edu and the faculty maintain the site.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
The purpose of the website is to present factual information.
Yes: 1 point
No: 0 points
A. Rheumatoid Arthritis
Score: __4___
(Based on the criteria, I felt as though this
website should be awarded all four points. I know the Mayo Clinic to be a
highly-reputable organization, the site appears to have been recently updated
and I believe that the website was created to present factual information.)
B. Autism
Score: __4___
B. Autism
Score: __4___
(Based on the criteria, I felt as though this
website should be awarded all four points. From what I know about Autism
Speaks, it is a highly-reputable organization, the website appears to have been
recently updated and I believe that the website was created to present factual
information.)
(I was not exactly sure about whether or not this
site has been updated within the past six months, but I saw something at the
bottom of the site that showed Nov/14, which I assumed would mean November of
2014. For that reason and the fact that the site offers online chat features, I
gave 1 point for the site having been created or updated within the past six
months. Another thing that I was not sure applied to this was the purpose of
the website being to present factual information. While I know that this site
is produced by the Bristol-Myers Squibb company and from what I know, it is a
reputable company and I believe that the information presented is based on
facts, I do not feel that is the purpose behind the creation of the website. I
think that the purpose is more geared to enticing individuals to try the
prescription drug Orencia for RA.)
D. People Magazine
Score: __3___
D. People Magazine
Score: __3___
(The one thing that I was not sure applied to this
was the purpose of the website being to present factual information. While I
know that People is a reputable business and attempts to ensure that they
present factual information in their articles, I do not think that the intended
purpose of the site is to present information as much as it is to help sell
subscriptions.)
E. Botox
Score: _2____
E. Botox
Score: _2____
(I
did a bit of additional research on the Allergan company that is behind Botox
cosmetics and the creation of this site. Based on the information that I found,
it appears to be a reputable company and that is why I awarded this site 2
points for being sponsored by a reputable company and the domain being a company
domain. Although when it comes to judging these factors, the information that I
felt was necessary to determine the scores was essentially lacking from the
website itself and therefore, the site might not be deserving of the score that
I awarded. From the information that I could find on this website, I do not
believe that it has been updated within the last six months. The Product
Information link at the bottom of the page showed that the posted product
information was dated 2013 and written in the Terms of Use information for this
site, it stated that while attempts to update information on the site were
often made, they did not guarantee the content to be up to date. I also do not
believe that the purpose of this website is to present factual information.
While it does contain information about Botox cosmetics, I feel that the
intended purpose for the site is to market the product to consumers.)
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