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Credibility Report Examples

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INTERNET CREDIBILITY REPORT
The topic I selected to research for the Internet Credibility Report is “Deciding where to go to college”. I have found a website that I consider to represent an excellent example of internet credibility based on the CARS checklist, and one website that demonstrates a poorer example of internet credibility. Using the CARS checklist as a guide, I will review these two sites. I will review the website https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools as an excellent example, and http://www.schoolanduniversity.com/ as a poor example of internet credibility.
Excellent Example of Internet Credibility
Using the CARS checklist to review the website, https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/prepare-for-college/choosing-schools …show more content…

When evaluating the accuracy of the published information on the site, I looked to see how current the information is, how factual, detailed and comprehensive it is. I also considered the audience and purpose of the article. There was no date of publication or copyright listed on this page, but the information seems to be pretty much up-to-date. I considered the information on this particular page timeless generic information about learning the steps a person can take to start researching colleges to find the proper fit; along with links to other tips and tools, (internal and external to the Department of Education). The purpose of the site is to be an informative site for potential college students, parents, counselors or other mentors, in regards to college preparation and selection. In addition to being current and timely, I found the page and site to be a one-stop-shop as far as being relevant to my research …show more content…

I found this website to be a poor example of internet credibility. I first examined the source of the information. I looked for things that would made this source believable. I looked for clues as to how they would know the information provided and what would make them an expert. As items that would help support the trust factor, I looked for information about the author and or publisher in order to gauge the author’s education or training. I didn’t find much to support the believability factor at all. I could not find any information about the publishing author or organization. There were no credentials on the “Home” or “About Us” page. The “Home” page refers to, “Our team of experts”, however, nowhere on the site could I find who those experts are. I visited the “Contact Us” page and there was a form requesting my contact information; name, email and phone number, rather than providing theirs. I clicked on the “Live Chat” radio button, and got the following message, “We’re sorry….The link you have clicked on has expired. Please refer to our Contact Us page for further assistance.” In addition to the anonymity, the written material is full of grammar errors, which also are clues to the website’s lack of credibility. In some areas of the content, the message was almost unreadable and difficult to understand. I counted at least seven

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