Web Site Critiques

Hort 231 - Assignment 5 (100 points)

DUE: Tuesday, October 23, 2007

There are many web sites with information on landscape plants. These cover many topics and have been created by a wide range of sources. Some contain useful, accurate information, while others contain errors, biases, or rumors. It is important to become aware of the advantages and limitations of these resources. For this assignment, you will write critiques of three different web sites.

How to Evaluate Web Sites: Study this information, then use it when you write your critiques.

Evaluating Information Found on the Internet - Required reading for this assignment. Includes information about evaluating web sites. Your critique must address the issues raised at this site.

Evaluation Criteria (from WSU Libraries) - Optional reading. This has additional questions that will help you evaluate the content of various information sources, including journal articles.

At the bottom of this page, you will find links to plant-related sites that are grouped into 8 categories. Follow a few links within each category to become familiar with the type of information that is available.

Select ONE category. You will critique three different web sites within this one category.

Study two of the linked web sites within that one category. Remember that you are evaluating a web SITE, not a web PAGE, so you will need to follow the links within your selected site before you will be able to evaluate your site.

Conduct a search using one or more search engines, such as those listed below. Find a good web site that fits within the SAME category, but is not already listed. If you need ideas for conducting a successful search, check out this site: BARE BONES 101: A Basic Tutorial on Searching the Web

Sample Search Engines
AltaVista	Ask
Dogpile	Google
HotBot	Yahoo!

Critique Format Write critiques of each of these three web sites. Type your critiques. Use proper grammar and correct spelling. For each critique, include the following information:

Title:

Category

Web site name

Web site address

Content:

What type of information can be found at this site?

How useful is the information?

Is the information clear and easy to understand?

How current is the information presented?

Evaluation:

What person or organization wrote, created, published, or sponsored the site?

What are their credentials related to the topic (for example, professional background)? Should they be knowledgeable in the subject matter? Why or why not?

What could their biases be? How could that influence the content?

Is there evidence that the presentation is biased in anyway - intentionally or not? Explain.

Are there obvious errors, for example in spelling or links (this indicates sloppy work, and could mean that facts are misstated or wrong)? Explain.

Does the author seem to be trying to persuade you to a particular viewpoint? Give examples.

Are credible and complete references or footnotes given, so that you could check the information in other trustworthy sources? Explain.

Conclusion:

How credible is this web page? Why?

What would you recommend using this page for?

Hort 231 Plant-Related Web Links by Category

1	ID, Descriptions, and Photos	5	Nurseries
.	PLANTfacts - The Ohio State University LANDSCAPE PLANTS, Oregon State University Plant Database of Trees, Shrubs, and Vines - U Conn Illinois' Best Plants - Plant Query Form Trees of the Pacific Northwest - Oregon State USDA PLANTS National Database Tree Fact Sheets - Virginia Tech NCSU Plant Fact Sheets Tree ID key - Michigan State University	.	Blue Sterling Nursery - dwarf conifers Classic Nursery & Landscape Company Forestfarm Fraser's Thimble Farms - unusual plants Heronswood Nursery Mori Nurseries North West Shade Trees Plants of the Wild J. Frank Schmidt & Son Co.

2	Specific Plant Groups	6	Weeds and invasive plants
.	American elm Clematis Conifers Daylilies Aroids Magnolias Palms and Cycads Roses	.	Washington State Noxious Weeds Noxious Weeds in the US and Canada Invasive Plants of Canada Ivy O.U.T. The Global Invasive Species Initiative Controlling Purple Loosestrife (It's a bug's life) Bryonia alba on the Palouse Weeds Gone Wild

3	NW Native Plants	7	Gardens and Arboretums
.	Pacific Northwest Wildflower Menu Washington Native Plant Society Idaho Native Plant Society Central Washington Native Plants Rainyside Pacific NW Native Plants King County: Native Plant Salvage Details WTU Image Collection: Plants of Washington WSU Master Gardeners' Native Plant Site	.	Bellevue Botanical Garden Botanica, Wichita, Kansas Chicago Botanic Garden Ohme Gardens University of Delaware Botanic Gardens Missouri Botanical Garden Univ. Alabama, Huntsville - Grounds Management Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

4	Water-Conserving Landscapes	8	Link collections
.	Landscape Water Conservation in Texas Low Water-Use Landscape Plants for the Southwest Plants for Water-conserving Landscapes in the Palouse Water conservation (City of Albuquerque) Saving Water Partnership (Seattle area) Colorado WaterWise Council Xeriscape Council of New Mexico Water-Wise Plants for Utah Landscapes	.	The Gardening Launch Pad GardenWeb.com Internet Directory for Botany Cyndi's Catalog of Garden Catalogs The Garden Gate PLANT - Purdue Landscape and Nursery Thesaurus Horticultural Web Sites for children Horticulture on the Internet

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Washington State University
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Page updated July 31, 2007