Advocacy
Advocacy
An "advocacy" web site's primary purpose is to influence public opinion by presenting a particular agenda and/or point-of-view. Businesses, special interest groups, and other organizations are increasingly using the Internet to advance their organization's agenda.
Examples . . .
Science - Global Warming: Union of Concerned Scientists, National Consumer Coalition
Social Science - Global Security: Center for Security Policy, Human Rights Watch
Humanities - Holocaust: The Holocaust Commission, The Holocaust History Project
AUTHORITY
- Is the organization responsible for the contents of the site identified?
- Is information about the goals of the organization available?
- Is the legitimacy of this organization verifiable?
- Is contact information including mailing address and phone number available?
- Is there a statement that the site has the official approval of the organization?
- Is the page sponsored by a national or local chapter of the organization?
- Is the copyright holder of the information listed?
- Is the copyright holder of the information an established publisher?
- Are individual authors listed?
- Are the credentials of the author(s) listed?
- Is the page located on the organization's web site?
- Is the text well written?
- Are references to factual information clearly identified?
- Are references cited from peer-reviewed journals or other credible publications?
- Is the information presented part of the organization's expertise?
- Is the information free of grammatical, spelling, and other typographical errors?
- Are links to other sites present and relevant for the topic?
- Are the links evaluated or summarized?
- Does the page have an original publication date?
- Is the site maintained and is the latest revision dated?
- Are the goals of the site clearly identified?
- If advertising is present, is it clearly differentiated from the content?
- If the organization has a stake in the topic, is their interest in the topic clearly stated?
- If the topic is controversial, are the organization's biases clearly presented?
- Is the information presented balanced, with multiple points-of-view?
- Is factual information kept separate from interpretation?
- Are opinions clearly identified?
- Is the text free of emotion and bias?
- Is the organization and author free of a political or philosophical agenda?
- Are there dates on the page to indicate:
- When the page was written?
- When the page was first placed on the Web?
- When the page was last revised?
- Are there any other indications that the material is kept current?
- Is the data provided the most current information available on the topic?
- Are the links current and up-to-date?
- Is there an indication the page is complete, and not under construction?
- Is it clear what topic the page intends to address?
- Does the page address all the relevant issues of the topic?
- If significant issues are left out, are reasons for their absence presented?
- Is the information correctly cited with the most recent references?
- Is the point of view of the organization presented in a clear manner with its arguments well supported?
Putting it all together . . .
Authority. If the site lists the organization and author of individual pages, and provides a way of contacting both the organization and author, and . . .
Accuracy. If the page lists the author's credentials and is properly referenced, and . . .
Objectivity. If the page provides accurate information that is well referenced and provides an objective assessment of the information, and . . .
Currency. If the site is recent and updated regularly, and the links are up-to-date, and . . .
Coverage. If the page is complete with few information gaps , then . . .
You may have a high quality advocacy web page.
