Unlike
print publications, it is difficult to determine
the currency of a web page. Websites are notorious
for dishing out outdated information and one should
look out for currency and accuracy of coverage.
The
questions to be asked for determining currency
are:
-
Are there dates on the page to
indicate when the page was created or when
it was last revised ?
-
Is there any guide or information
material to indicate how the information is
kept current ?
-
For financial information, is
there an indication it was filed with concerned
regulatory authority ?
-
For material from the company's
annual report, is the date of the report listed
?
Regarding accuracy,
the pertinent questions are:
-
Has the company provided a link
to outside sources such as product reviews
or reports which can be used to verify company
claims ?
-
Has the sources of information
clearly displayed ? Can it be easily verified
? For example, citing name of a newspaper
as a source without publication date is not
enough as the same can not be easily verified.
-
Is the information free of grammatical,
spelling, and typographical errors? Presence
of such silly and easily avoidable errors
not only reflect very poorly on quality consciousness
of an organization but can also lead to inaccurate
information.
Regarding
objectivity, pertinent questions are:
-
For any given piece of information,
is it clear what the company's motivation
is for providing it ? Is there enough contextual
information ? It is easy to mislead someone
by providing information out of context -
like Yudhisthir in Mahabharata - telling Dronacharya
'Ashthama is dead' without providing contextual
information that 'Ashthama' is actually an
elephant not Dronacharya's son - leading to
death of Dronacharya.
-
If there is advertising material
in the page, can it be clearly differentiated
from the informational content ?
Regarding coverage - the
questions to be asked are:
-
Is there an indication that the
page is complete in itself and is not under
construction ?
-
How elaborate is the description
of a product ? Does it include important information
like specifications, warranty etc. ?
-
Is there any 'frequently asked
questions' section or similar guide to help
customers ?
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