In this paper the writer, Michelle Powers, will explore the key components that are attributed to a trustworthy website. Authority, accuracy, objectivity, currency, and coverage are the 5 criteria used to determine if a website’s content is trustworthy and accurate. In this paper the writer will evaluate the American Public Human Service Association (APHSA) website using the 5 criteria listed above. (How to Recognize an Informational Web Page, 2009)
The American Public Human Service Association (APHSA) is a website designed to assist human services agencies/employees and healthcare agencies/employees by linking them to information on helpful tools to achieve success, how to better an organization, and how to better job performance. APHSA offers human services agencies and healthcare employees information on available jobs, policy and practice publications, upcoming conferences, organizational effectiveness tools and services, state and local news events, other pertinent websites, and other groups that are helpful for human service’s workers/agencies and healthcare workers/agencies. (APHSA, 2007)
The first criterion in evaluating a website’s authenticity is authority. If a website does not have authority over their website anyone could post information and it demonstrates that they don’t take responsibility for what is on their website. APHSA clearly defines that APHSA is responsible for the website’s content. APHSA’s website clearly describes the organization’s goals and purpose, APHSA’s physical address and phone numbers are posted in order to contact them for more information, a statement is posted clearly to define the organization’s copyright laws, the content on the page has to be approved by APHSA before the content is posted, and that the site is a national organization. These pieces of information are elements of a website demonstrating authority. (APHSA, 2007)
The second criterion in evaluating a website’s authenticity is accuracy. If a person does not evaluate the accuracy of a website then he or she could be reading information that is inaccurate. The sources of the factual information on APHSA’s website are clearly listed so that the information can be verified. APHSA’s website and the information posted are grammatically correct, and APSHA’s website has no typographical or spelling errors; this is an indication of good quality control and accuracy. (APHSA, 2007)
The third criterion in evaluating a website’s authenticity is objectivity. Users need to know what the organization’s biases are in order to fully understand any information posted and to have the ability to recognize any conflicts of interest. ASPHA fully discloses their affiliations in order to let all the users of their website know of ASPHA’s financial sponsors and partners. Honesty goes a long way and helps readers gain a sense of trust from an organization. (APHSA, 2007)
The fourth criterion in evaluating a website’s authenticity is currency and ASPHA could improve the quality of the website by focusing more on this particular criterion. The website does not clearly display when the website was first uploaded on the Web, when the page was last revised, or when the page was written. The only date that is displayed on the website is the month April, under this link the website lists current alerts effecting human services. This is the only clue that APHAS’s website is current. (APHSA, 2007)
The fifth criterion in evaluating a website’s authenticity is coverage. ASPHA’s website is completed and not under construction; all the links and WebPages are active. ASPHA’s website clearly displays what topic each page covers, and the site covers these topics thoroughly! The ASPHA’s site is very informative and consists of good resources for human services and healthcare agencies/workers.
After evaluating ASPHA’s website the writer found the site informative, authentic, ASPHA fully discloses financial partners and academic partners, no grammatical or spelling errors exist, and ASPH clearly states its purpose and mission. The writer did find that ASPH’s website lacked currency; it was very difficult to find when the website was last updated, and when the site had been constructed. ASPHA could update the quality of their website by displaying the missing data listed above; there is always room for improvement!
References
APHSA. (2007). Retrieved April 17, 2009 from American Public Human Services
Association: http://www.aphsa.org/home/home_news.asp.
How to Recognize an Informational Web Page. (2009). Retrieved April 17, 2009
from Widner University: http://www3.widener.edu/academics/libraries/
wolfgram_memorial_library/evaluate_web_pages
checklist_for_an_information_web_page/5720/.
