1 / 17

How to Evaluate Blogs for Academic Research

How to Evaluate Blogs for Academic Research. Jill Borin & Molly Wolf December 5, 2012. What is a Blog?. Blogs are most like…. Editorials that appear in magazines, journals, and newspapers:. Evaluation Criteria for Blogs. Authority Accuracy Currency Objectivity Language Appearance

marva
Download Presentation

How to Evaluate Blogs for Academic Research

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. How to Evaluate Blogs for Academic Research Jill Borin & Molly Wolf December 5, 2012

  2. What is a Blog?

  3. Blogs are most like… • Editorials that appear in magazines, journals, and newspapers:

  4. Evaluation Criteria for Blogs • Authority • Accuracy • Currency • Objectivity • Language • Appearance • Usefulness • Influence Traditional Evaluation Criteria Criteria Specific to Blogs

  5. Traditional Evaluation Criteria: New Questions • Authority: • Does the blog include upfront bio, credentials and contact information? • Are blog posts signed by an identifiable author? • Does the blogger have expertise or influence on the topic of the blog? • Accuracy: • Does the blog include a blogroll of already-known-to-be-credible blogs? • Does the blog include hypertext links leading to reputable sources of information?

  6. Traditional Evaluation Criteria: New Questions Cont. • Currency: • Is this blog alive, containing current and regular posts from the author? • Does the blog provide additional information about the timing of this blog in relation to its content? • Objectivity: • Is the blog upfront about its bias? • Is the blog author tolerant of opposing points of view, recognizing other points of view? • Does the blog include any sponsored links or advertisements?

  7. Criteria Specific to Blogs: Language: • How sophisticated is the language and the spelling? • Does the blog contain reasonable and rational language, a reserved tone, as well as explanations, definitions, clarifications?

  8. Criteria Specific to Blogs: Appearance • Does the blog have a professional appearance? • Does the blog use visual elements effectively?

  9. Criteria Specific to Blogs: Usefulness • Is this blog useful for academic research? • Are there reputable outside sources that can assert the usefulness of this blog?

  10. Criteria Specific to Blogs: Influence • Is it easy to obtain information about the community to which this blog belongs, and the number of blogs that link to this blog? • What is the influence of this blog on debate about the topic? • At what point in a story’s lifetime did a post appear?

  11. Currency Authority

  12. Authority Currency and Influence Authority Objectivity

  13. Examples of Usefulness: Scholarly articles that have cited this blog Fakhouri, R. (2010). The most dangerous blot in our constitution: retiring the flawed Electoral College contingent procedure. Northwestern University Law Review, 104 (2), 705-739. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.widener.edu • 13 See Nate Silver, 12th Amendment Update: Tie Probability Continues to Increase, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT, Sept. 19, 2008, http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/12th-amendment-update-tie-probability.html Gerstle, G. (2010). The GOP in the age of Obama. New Labor Forum, 19 (3), 23-31,114. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.widener.edu • 12 Nate Silver, "What Tuesday Really Meant," FiveThirtyEight.com, May 19, 2010, available at www.fivethirtyeight.com/201 0/05/what-tuesday-really-meant.html. Sanders, S. (2012). The constitutional right to (keep your) same-sex marriage. Michigan Law Review, 110 (8), 1421-1481. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.widener.edu • 114 See Nate Silver, Gay Marriage Opponents Now in Minority, NYTimes.com (Apr. 20, 2011, 11:18 AM), http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/gay-marriageopponents-now-in-minority/ Skocpol, T. & Jacobs, L. R. (2012). Accomplished and Embattled: Understanding Obama's Presidency. Political Science Quarterly 127 (1), 1-24. Retrieved from http://0- search.proquest.com.libcat.widener.edu • 36Nate Silver, "Freshman Republicans Push House Toward Right," The New York Times, 12 July 2011, accessed at http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/12/freshmen-republicans-push-housetoward-right/

  14. Influence Accuracy

  15. More evidence of Accuracy

  16. More Evidence of Influence and Usefulness • fivethirtyeight.com - Awards & Recognition • 2012: Earned a Webby Award for "Best Political Blog" from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. • 2011: Named among "The Best Blogs of 2011" by Time Magazine. • 2010: politico.com listed Nate Silver as one of seven bloggers among "The Most Powerful People on Earth.” • 2009: Named among "Our Favorite Blogs of 2009" by PC Magazine. • 2009: Earned a "Bloggie" as the "Best Weblog about Politics" in the Weblog Awards. • 2008: Described as "one of the breakout online stars of the year" in The New York Times. • 2008: First blog ever selected as a Notable Narrative by the Niemen Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University.

  17. Conclusion • This evaluation has demonstrated that the fivethirtyeight.com blog is Accurate, Current, Objective, and Authoritative. • In addition it has demonstrated that it is Useful and Influential presenting information with sophisticated Language and a professional Appearance. • Therefore, the fivethirtyeight.com blog has proven itself to be a reliable and unbiased source of information on the 2012 presidential election.

More Related