2. The two websites I chose to compare were:
http://www.akc.org/breeds/labrador_retriever/index.cfm
http://www.justlabradors.com/
Part of the Common Core Standards for fifth grade students is they have to
write a research paper. For this paper I let my students choose their own
topic which helps to keep them interested. Dogs are one of the most popular
topics selected. I am also a dog lover and have a Labrador Retriever which is
why I chose these sites.
Websites
3. akc.com:
• This site has links to other pages about Labrador Retrievers.
• They have information that can be verified by their organization
supported by dates when specific information was approved.
• It also has links that take you to commercial sites that sell things.
justlabradors.com
• This site also has links however, most of their links are to commercial
sites that have information and want to sell you something.
• These sites did not appear to be reputable.
• It also wants you to make a dog food purchase from their sponsor to help
support their forum. Asking for money to support their forum also does
not seem reputable.
Accuracy
4. • The akc.org website has a domain name that is recognizable.
• AKC stands for the American Kennel Club. You know who wrote the information and
they are knowledgeable about the subject matter.
• The AKC is organization qualified to provide information on breeds of dogs.
• The extension on their website is .org which means it is an organization.
• It can be any organization however, it usually is a non-profit.
• They have contact information with a specific email address, phone and fax number.
• The justlabradors.com has a domain name that sounds personal and it is not
recognizable. Just Labradors sounds like someone wanted to create a webpage just
about Labradors.
• The contact information only lets you type in your name, email and a message. There is
no other contact information for them.
• There is not specific person or recognizable organization who wrote information for
this site.
• It also has the extension .com which means this is a paid for commercial site.
Authority
5. akc.com
• This site does have dates. I could not find a specific date when the
main page was updated but there were pages that had information
with recent dates.
• All links worked.
justlabradors.com
• This site also had dates listed on pages where there were articles.
The dates were when the articles were written. However, the most
recent date I found was 2011.
• All links worked.
Currency
6. akc.org
• This site has links to all the different breeds of dogs recognized by
the American Kennel Club. Therefore, one could say they show bias
towards dogs they feel meet their criteria.
• The page designated for Labradors gives specific facts about the
breed not opinions.
justlabradors.com
• This site gives facts about Labradors however, they have ads
everywhere and links to sponsors within the text. Which would make
this text not reliable.
• It also has a forum where people post questions and answers which
would lead one to believe this page has opinions as well as facts.
Therefore, the facts maybe skewed.
Objectivity
7. My Pick
I would choose the AKC.org website over justlabradors.com. The AKC site
meet more of the requirements of being a reputable website site. Even thought
the justlabradors.com had what appeared to be factual information on their
site it was hard to determine if the information was fact or simply opinion.
My students have to do a research paper during the year and they get to choose
their own topic. Dogs are a popular topic. This site will be an approved
reference for them to use.
