During week 6, we were taught on the various criteria when evaluating internet resources. The main purpose of evaluating internet resources is to determine its quality. This is crucial to ensure that the information obtained from the internet resources is accurate and reliable. There are many evaluation criteria, mainly: Purpose, Coverage, Authority, Accuracy, Currency, Accessibility, Presentation and Arrangement, Usability and Overall quality. One important thing that users should take note is that different internet resources require different evaluation criteria.
For this week, we were asked to evaluate Straits Times Online Mobile Print (STOMP) which is a web portal by Singapore Press Holdings. In order to ensure its credibility, I have decided to use 4 different evaluation criteria. The 4 different criteria are purpose, coverage, accuracy and currency.
1. Purpose
From the About Us page, I was able to determine STOMP’s purpose which is to “connect, engage and interact with Singaporeans in a style and approach that is different from conventional news website”. By displaying its purpose clearly, users are able to easily determine if they are using the appropriate site. This means that a user who is searching for credible information for his research should find another site whereas a user who wishes to provide interesting news stories will choose to stay on this site.
2. Coverage
STOMP covers a variety of areas mainly citizen journalism platform, discussion forums on various subjects, news stories and entertainment. Its intended audience can be inferred from the purpose to be layman Singaporeans as it wants to connect, engage and interact with Singaporeans. By evaluating the coverage, I am able to determine if the subject I am searching for can be found on this site or should I search for another website.
3. Accuracy
Apart from the news stories section, most of the other areas covered by STOMP are user-generated. This means that the content found are contributed by the public and not from an expert or from a research. As such, one should be cautious when quoting information from STOMP as the information may be bias or inaccurate. However, interesting stories sent in by the public may be accurate as they are often accompanied by images or videos. By using accuracy as an evaluation criterion, I will be able to determine if the information I retrieve from STOMP is reliable and accurate enough to be used for my research.
4. Currency
As mentioned above, a large part of the content found on STOMP is contributed by the public. These are usually contributed when a person witnesses an interesting incident. The person will likely capture a photo or video of the incident before uploading it onto STOMP. With the technological advancement in Singapore, the person is able to do so almost immediately upon witnessing it. This means that the news is likely to be current. This is an important evaluation criterion especially if one is dealing with issues such as current affairs.
From this activity, I have learned the importance of evaluating the internet resource that I am using. Although it may seem troublesome and time-consuming, I feel that it is worth the effort as it will help ensure the information I obtain is reliable and accurate. This will then ensure the reliability and accuracy of my research. One is also able to save time when searching for information if he evaluates the website before using it. This will allow the user to determine if the information or subject he is searching is found on that website. This is definitely better than searching for information aimlessly.
If I were to create my own version of STOMP, I don’t think I will apply citizen journalism differently from how STOMP applies it. In STOMP, the public is allowed to post their thoughts on a particular subject. In my own version, I will allow users to post their opinions on the consumption of genetically modified food. By doing so, other users will be able to read a more balanced view of the issue. Also, users will be allowed to provide information on the recent trends and developments of the genetically modified food industry. This will help create awareness on this issue which has been relatively unknown.
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