Quality and Authenticity of Web Resources

QUALITY AND AUTHENTICITY OF WEB RESOURCES

Welcome readers!

You must be wondering about the title of this blog, Right? Well, It is evitable to offer some information regarding the subject. We all use the internet and online platforms that meet our educational purpose and sometimes it may happen that while going through the information offered by the websites may not be as accurate as it should be or sometimes it lacks authenticity or quality. In this case, one must possess the skill or ability to recognize whether the content is qualitative or not? Even if it passes the test of qualitative content, again the question of whether it is authentic or reliable or not stands still! So to understand the ‘Quality and Authenticity of Web Resources’- a workshop was supervised by our Head of Department Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad Sir at M K Bhavnagar University. 

The aim of the workshop which was organized on the 19^th of November 2019 was to understand the seriousness of productivity of various available internet sources in Academics and Research works.

Here are the reports of the workshop in newspapers.

Many times it may happen that while surfing on the internet, one may come upon a content which might interest him/her and which is related to the respective study course too. So, how to recognize whether the site has a trustworthy content or not! The thing is that we do not question the quality of information, and even sometimes forget to observe the intent of the site like for the sake of earning a good amount the site might be designed; some sites provide only somewhat information and rather focus on revenue collection so these sites may fail to pass the test of a qualitative intent. It is said that students are somewhat biased in online content and as it’s 21^st century so for assignments and various projects, a larger group of students prefer to directly copy the idea or content without even checking whether it is good or not. And this system seems to be increasing day by day with the increase in the use of Wikipedia, Britannica and various other sites which provide information at the very first page in Google when searched for almost anything. 

 It is fine that whenever students are curious to know they ask Wikipedia which would easily serve them a good amount of information but on the other hand when students are asked to perform in assignments and projects they must follow the integrity of writing good and original content in the assessed works. The Pew Research Center says that

“Internet-based search has replaced the more rigorous and traditional approaches to research”

It must be observed here that the internet ‘search’ is not in true sense ‘research’.

While analyzing student ‘Research’ in digital age, the Pew report shows that the ease with which information “appears” online allows students to avoid any of the questions that  may surface concerning the quality and intent of information they research.

TURNITIN

Turnitin is a website which provides a streamlined grading, prevent plagiarism and engage students. Its one of the papers is based on the evaluation of sources used by students. In this paper, it highlights the way of analyzing the context and sites through the rubric and shows how common source sites perform against the rubric. So to improve the research skills, the rubric helps to understand qualitative content.

This data supports the following insights into student research behavior, specifically:

• Students appear to value immediacy over quality in online research,

The ease with which “the answer” may be found online places sites such as Wikipedia, homework help sites, answer sites, and other social and content sharing sites to the top in terms of source matches.

• Students often use cheat sites and paper mills as sources

Less a research competency issue than a moral and ethical one, the significant number of sources that match to cheat sites and paper mills suggest that for students there is a bias towards immediate outcomes and results rather than towards concerted the effort to meet assignment goals.

• There is an over-reliance on the “wisdom of the crowd”

Students appear to demonstrate a strong appetite for crowd-sourced content in their research. Though it is not immediately evident why students seek these sources out, the strong reliance on these types of sites indicate difficulty assessing the authority and legitimacy of the content these sources present.

 • Student “research” is synonymous with “search”

The frequent and uninhibited use of sites with limited educational value (as defined by the quality and authority of content) in student work underscores a preference for “searched,” rather than “researched” content.

 • Existing student source choices warrant a need for better search skills

In addition to a preference for immediacy, the popularity of crowd-sourced content online indicates that a majority of students are engaging in cursory or shallow searches for content. At play may be an absence of awareness of how search engines work and how to effectively conduct searches to find appropriate content. What also appears to be absent is the use of criteria (whether internally—or externally—defined) to judge that content.

SEER – Source Educational Evaluation Rubric

The rubric is built on five criteria:

• Authority: Is the site well regarded, cited, and written by experts in the field?

• Educational Value: Does the site content help advance educational goals?

• Intent: Is the site a well-respected source of content intended to inform users?

 • Originality: Is the site a source of original content and viewpoints?

• Quality: Is the site highly vetted with good coverage of the topical area?

Our professor had recommended us to apply the rubric on some sites which we use on a daily basis for academic purposes so that we can become aware of the process of originality and quality of content. Here is my evaluation of three sites according to the rubric. 

 1)   MODPO ONLINE COURSE (PLATFORM- COURSERA)

Coursera provides universal access to the world's best education, partnering with top universities and organizations to offer courses online. 

	Highly Credible		Credible		Discreditable
	4	3	2	1	0
AUTHORITATIVE	4
EDUCATIONAL VALUE		3.5
INTENT	4
ORIGINALITY		3.9
QUALITY	4

ModPo (Modern and Contemporary American Poetry) is an online course which has very qualitative content. The course is developed by the Kelly Professor, Dir. center for programs in contemporary writing, Faculty Dir. Kelly  Writers House. The information and contents are well presented as well as it is written and developed by a reputable university Professor Al Filreis so it becomes an expert content as far as Authorisation is concerned. 

In terms of its Educational value, the contents which are freely accessible are reliable and helps the student to think critically as well as creatively. 

The site has a highly respected source as it provides all contents free to the users so that they may benefit from it. 

The site has almost all original content with some viewpoints of critics as far as originality is concerned.

Well, the quality of the site is high and all the materials which it provides have good quality and are researched well. 

2) BARTLEBY.COM

	Highly Credible		Credible		Discreditable
	4	3	2	1	0
AUTHORITATIVE			2.4
EDUCATIONAL VALUE		3.4
INTENT				1
ORIGINALITY		3.3
QUALITY		3

Bartleby is a regarded site that has information that is referenced and cited but it asks for email and does require an account to access information while some information are free and accessible. In authoritative, it can have 2.4 points as it is properly referenced and cited. As far as Educational value is concerned, it meets the instructional goals and it has critical aspects that are worth pondering. It promotes content and provides a piece of good information to some extent so it can be said that the intent is moderate. In terms of originality, it offers original works of art. It has reliable content with good coverage. 

3) COURSEHERO.COM

	Highly Credible		Credible		Discreditable
	4	3	2	1	0
AUTHORITATIVE			2.0
EDUCATIONAL VALUE		3.o
INTENT				1.3
ORIGINALITY			2.5
QUALITY			2.3

Coursehero is a questionably credible website that actually intends to generate revenue in the exchange of quality content and good information. It has reputable information that is referenced and cited. It meets instructional goals but after paying the sum which it demands. This site promotes content, the goal of the site seems to be other than just to inform the users and information seekers. It offers original content. 

PLAGIARISM

Here is plagiarism spectrum developed by turnitin in order to identify the wrongful content, this picture shows types of plagiarism done by students. 

It can be said that this productive workshop was all about awareness about Quality content, plagiarism as well as originality. I express my sincere thanks to Dr. Dilip Barad Sir for organizing this advantageous workshop.

Thank you...