Some help with your evaluations (edited 10/14/04 ADA)

(1)-
http://www.martinlutherking.org/
This site appears at first to be "Historical Writings" and a biographical "tribute" to Dr. King.  On closer examination we find the real purpose of this page is to discredit Dr. King and the Civil Rights movement. If you read the material on the page the bias becomes clear.  Chase down the source and you will find http://www.stormfront.org/ email address is a white supremacist organization. For those with knowledge the web page is controlled by David Duke a known leader of the KKK.  His name was well known 10-20 years ago but he hasn't made the news in recent years since he was in jail.  See if you can find information about David Duke and the organization connected to this page, evaluate this page in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria

(2)-
http://pubweb.acns.nwu.edu/~abutz/di/intro.html: Looks good, from an academic institution, even though it explains away the holocaust which our background knowledge would reject.  The reality is this is an article from an engineering professor not a history professor.  The author would have little credibility in this area. Other sites indicate the widespread disagreement with Dr. Butz views. The president of Northwestern University one time had a web page explaining the University's position but it doesn't seem to be there anymore. A recent comment in the school newspaper has some comments. Link to this site Daily Northwestern and search for "Butz". The web site Teaching Zack To Think provides an analysis and links treating a high school student's (lack of knowledge and inexperienced) experience with this site.

 (3)--
http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html
Take the "World's Shortest Political Quiz," courtesy of Advocates for Self Government. Who is this group and do they have a bias, if so what is their bias? What is the purpose for this site? Look at the results and at the descriptions given of "Other Political Philosophies." Are there questions that weren't asked that might have placed you in a different category? Is there anything about the survey (sampling method, that is, who took the survey) that might cause  you to be suspicious of these findings? Is any of the language used to describe the categories "loaded" or "biased" and,  if so, how? The web page belongs to the Libertarian party--the rest you can answer with close examination. The earlier version for this site did not clearly identify the source, at least to me, and there appeared to be an attempt to make me see myself as a potential Libertarian. This revised site seems to be a more accurate political quiz.  For further information search for "libertarian" or specific people mentioned on the web site on Google" to find out more about the site.  Evaluate in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria

(4)-
http://www.activebuyersguide.com/
This is an online source designed to help potential buyers of digital cameras make a decision. Is this a credible source?  Why or why not? Look for possible conflicts of interest, how is this site funded? Evaluate in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria

(5)-
http://www.mysimon.com/
Another buying service. Is this a credible source? Why or why not? How does it compare with the site above? Look for possible conflicts of interest, how is this site funded? Evaluate in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria

(6)-
http://www.southern.com/southern/label/CRC/1238.html
"This page describes how the media can take information and twist the meaning and truth over time. They jump to conclusions to sell the story.  The story is about a spliced tape between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Regan. It was made by the punk rock band Crass during the Falklands war." This was contributed by a a Soc120 student fall 2001 What is the purpose of this page? The comments in the page give ways to evaluate the credibility.  Evaluate in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria

(7)-
http://cuttingedge.org/detail.cfm?ID=326  What about the credibility for this page. A religious perspective, what is your evaluation now? Check this site linked on the original page  http://www.cuttingedge.org/. Evaluate in terms of the Web Evaluation Criteria
   

(8)-
Evaluate the following as a group:

http://www.dhmo.org/ A Con position on the availability of DHMO. What about the credibility for this page.
http://www.circus.com/~nodhmo/ Another Con position on DHMO
http://www.armory.com/~crisper/DHMO/ A proponent of DHMO

Good reliable web sites:

(19)--
http://search.eb.com/
Britannica Online. Good comprehensive site for CSUB students. Has many different features, like limiting your search to more reliable web sites.

(20)--
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
Merriam -Webster Online Dictionary. Online dictionary and thesaurus (some resources are not free through this site but CSUB students can access this source through the Britannica link and receive the information for free).

(21)--.
http://lii.org/
Librarians Index to the Internet Provides Librarian selected Internet resources.  The mission of Librarians' Index to the Internet is to provide a well-organized point of access for reliable, trustworthy, librarian-selected Internet resources, serving California, the nation, and the world.

(22)--
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html
Statistical abstract of the United States.  Great resource for finding statistics. This is also available in print at the Walter Stiern Library. The National Data Book contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States. Selected international data are also included. The Abstract is also your Guide to Sources of other data from the Census Bureau, other Federal agencies, and private organizations. (Also try  http://www.firstgov.gov/ for the federal governments  index of their information resources)

(23)--
http://www.kbb.com/
Kelly Blue Book.  (Also Carfax.com which provides used car history) A credible up to date resource for buying new and used cars. This is also available in print.

(24)--
http://www.amazon.com/ -/+
Amazon.coms web site.  This site provides an assortment of items for purchase (scholarly and popular). While it does have academic resources these items are for sale and the reviews/comments about the items may not be trustworthy.

(25)--
http://www.nytimes.com/ -/+
New York Times web site. Web sites for major newspapers are great to use for current events around the world and archive purpose if the feature is available. Just like other resources evaluating the content is necessary. All of the information my not be from a reliable/credible journalist.

Books- Use your web and Critical Thinking skills to evalaute the following:
(26)--

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition  -/+
by American Psychological Association
Use Google and with quotes type in the books name.  Purpose in evaluating this resource is to determine who would need to use this book and why (aside from credibility…)?

(26)

The Opposite of fate: a book of musings by Amy Tan -/+
Use Google and with quotes type in the books name. This book is non-fiction but would we consider it a scholarly source? Of course we may be looking for reviews to report in a paper and we could find them this way.

(27)-

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right by Al Franken 

         and

(28)-
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism -- by Ann Coulter
[Note: there was a legal threat for using pictures, material, etc. from this book without permission--I choose not to place the books picture here to avoid legal problems.]

Be weary of the content in books like these.  These are partisan books supporting a political position.  The facts may be accurate or inaccurate.  Information may be quite useful if you can find another source. Al Frankin's book lists sources.  You should not rely on the book alone as an academic resource except in writing a paper discussing these types of books.

(29) Site contributed by Maynard on "seaguin's"> Unique bilogical species Go here: