Practical 6a & b

Purpose Are the aims of the website clearly stated? The purpose of the article is clearly stated and focus extensively on both structures and trends of the adult entertainment industry.

Coverage What is the coverage of the site? Is it comprehensive? What subject areas and materials are covered? Are there any pointers to further information that enhance the coverage of the site? Are the links to other sites useful? The article provided historical background on representations of sexuality in everyday life, describes the emergence of mass markets for both soft- and hard-core pornography, and acknowledges the mutual shaping of Eros and technology. It also identifies a number of developing trends in the adult entertainment industry. Reviews on some of the frequently cycled statistics on the dimensions of the adult market and its constituent parts and discussion on the pyramid-like structure of the industry and the factors that seem to confer competitive advantage are also included. There are link to the personal webpage of the author, Blaise Cronin, and the link is fairly helpful for seeking out his other articles. As well as a seperate link to the abstract of a related article.

Authority Is this an authoritative source? Are there any reviews about this site or has it been included in any gateways or virtual libraries? The article is from an authoritative source, the author; Blaise Cronin is an established professor in his field and is concurrently a Visiting Professor in the School of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh. From 1985-1991, he held the Chair of Information Science in the Strathclyde University Business School, Glasgow. The article is included in the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics web site, which is an information gateway created for resources relating to Social Informatics. The author of the article can be reached through email, and information about him can be found on his website.

Accuracy Are the facts accurate? Does it use research as a basis? Is there political, ideological, or biasness in the source? Is it a factual site or one that contains an opinion? Are the references stated clearly? Is it free from grammatical, spelling and typographical errors? The facts are accurate; it uses research from a number of publicly traded and privately held bellwether companies. There exists no biasness in the source. The site is factual and is free from grammatical, spelling and typographical errors.

Currency Is the information up-to-date? Is it well-maintained? The article is up-to-date for the time of its release. However, aging 2 years, there might be some unforeseen development not included in the article.

Accessibility Is the site easily accessible? Does it require registration and log-ins? Are all the information accessible for FREE? The site is easily accessible and does not require registration or log-ins, all the information are freely accessible as well. The information is well presented and arranged, the information are clearly, consistently and logically presented and arranged.

Presentation and Arrangement Is the information well presented and arranged? Is the information clearly, consistently and logically presented and arranged? Are there any features such as site map, an index or a search facility? How effective are the search features in helping users to find information? There’s proper indexing and the search engine for the site is effective in helping users to find information. On the whole the site is easy to navigate and fairly well made, with a simple but practical design.

Usability Is it easy to use and navigate around? Are there user support facilities? The website is easy to navigate with clear links and layout.

Overall What is your overall impression of the quality of the website? On the whole the site is easy to navigate and fairly well made, with a simple but practical design.

Reflection

I learned that there are many criterias to consider when evaluating a website, usually I would just look at the content's relevance and quantity, as well as the web layout. But now I'm exposed to a whole different set of criteria to consider so as to better my judgement on a website's usefulness.