Evaluating Web Sites - Example 4

Let's do a bit of summarizing before moving on.

You've seen how an analysis of a page's web address, its URL, tells you something about the source.

You've also seen that by using free internet search engines and subject directories, as well as subscription databases of articles and the library catalog, you can find more  information about where a web page or site is coming from, and also about the validity of its content.

Keep in mind that this section of the tutorial is not about supporting or opposing animal rights or animal experiments.  It's about finding information on the web and evaluating it.  As you can see, animal rights is a controversial issue.  Most people, whether they are experts or laypersons, seem to have definite opinions.  Some just support their opinions better than others by virtue of their experience and by marshalling their evidence and appealing to reason.

Now let's look at another web site.

Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT)
http://altweb.jhsph.edu/

Source:

• The site, which is affiliated with a major eastern university having a medical school, uses the college/university domain of dot-edu.

• CAAT, however, seems to be an advocacy organization (it seeks to minimize the use of animals in experiments); so if it were unaffiliated it might be a dot-org.

• It has a "Contact Us" link; and an "About Us" link provides ample information about who is behind the group, including representatives from government, academia, industry, and non-profits.

• The people behind this site appear to be experts in biomedical research.  For example, look in the web site's publications section (the link is several inches under their search button) for a book called The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique.  Its authors have solid credentials.  A search on their names in Google produces a testament to their expertise in the area from the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health, Office of Animal Care and Use.

Content:

• This is a rather extensive site with many pages and links to other apparently reputable sites.  It publishes journals and has a variety of "educational resources."

• The tone is objective.  The site provides a variety of writings by medical researchers about when and where animal experimentation may or may not be necessary, and about humane conditions for animals.  The FAQs page well illustrates the tone of the web site.