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for dishing out outdated information and one should look out for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.
-
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 ?
