DCLS Website Reliability Training

1. 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

2. Is this website reliable? What clues can you find? Click here to visit the actual website. ` So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

3. Where do the links go? 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? Reliable or Unreliable

4. 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. Back to the web page slide So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

5. 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? Back to the web page slide So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

6. 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. Back to the web page slide So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

7. 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? So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page slide

8. 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

9. Is this website reliable? What clues can you find? Click here to go to the actual website. So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

10. Last updated? 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. Back to the web page So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

11. 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. Back to the web page So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

12. 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

13. 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

14. What’s in a URL .com means that this is a commercial site. When you see this, try to understand what they want to sell you. AIM stands for “Alcohol In Moderation.” It matches the name of the group who created the website. So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

15. 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

16. Is this website reliable? What clues can you find? Click here to go to the actual website. So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

17. Who created this page? The Exploratorium is a science and art museum in San Francisco. Museum sites can be authoritative sources of information. Back to the web page So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

18. What’s in a URL? Normally, only institutions of higher education are allowed to use the .edudomain. That rule was established in October 2001. However, many museums and other educational institutions were also using .edubefore then. If you see .eduattached 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

19. No ads Many websites are more interested in selling ad space than in providing quality information. A website without ads is generally a good sign. Back to the web page So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

20. Reliable This 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

21. Is this website reliable? What clues can you find? Click here to go to the actual website. So what do you think? Reliable or Unreliable

22. Check out the URL 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

23. 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

24. 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

25. 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? Reliable or Unreliable Back to the web page

26. Unreliable This 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

27. Good Job! You made it. To Sum Up, Always Ask…