Let’s evaluate this website using RADAR to determine if it a credible source for you to use in a college assignment.
RADAR is an acronym to help you remember the criteria you should check when evaluating a website. RADAR stands for Rationale, Authority, Date, Accuracy, and Relevance.
At first glance, this site looks professional and full of useful information about nursing education and careers. When you look more closely you can see this website is trying to trick you.
Click the image to enlarge it and read the details before proceeding.
In this tutorial we will explore each aspect of RADAR.
Why was this article written?
This is a commercial website. The author of this website created it to inform people but also to advertise nursing schools to potential students. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on About Us.
(Click to enlarge)
Notice at the bottom of the page there is information on how schools can advertise on this website.
Is there a bias?
Click Important Information at the bottom of the page.
Notice the answer to question one: "Schools pay to advertise on our sites." Do you think this site will then be biased towards schools which are paid advertisers? If a user of this site is shown paid advertiser schools first or only, then students are not getting all of the information they need to make an educated decision about which school to attend.
What are the author’s credentials?
Click the back button on your browser.
Look for an author's name. The author's name is usually listed at the top or the bottom of a website.
No personal author is listed. In this case, the author is the company, All Nursing Schools.
What do we know about All Nursing Schools' credentials? What, education, experience, or eyewitness status makes them an authority on nursing?
There is no way to know. We do know they are a business.
When was the information published or last updated?
There is no publication date or last updated date listed on the web page, making it impossible to verify when this information was published. Without a date, we have no way to determine if the information on this website is outdated or obsolete.
Was the source reviewed by an editor or subject expert?
There is no way to know this for sure, but it is unlikely that is was verified by a subject expert. There are no errors such as grammatical or spelling mistakes so someone, possibly an editor, proofread the writing. However, there is no indication that the actual content has been verified.
Do other sources support the information presented?
There is no bibliography or list of references on this website. Credible sources tend to draw from other credible sources so a lack of supporting references is often a red flag.
Does the information answer your research question?
If you are interested in studying to become a nurse, this information is probably relevant to you. This source is not right for the audience of college students writing a college paper because the author, content, and date cannot be verified. The biggest issue with this website is that it was created as an advertisement to generate money for a marketing company so the information was not selected fairly and is presented with bias towards the schools which paid to be included.
Does the information meet the stated requirements for the assignment?
Watch out! Many assignments require sources written by experts and published in scholarly journals.
Who is the intended audience?
The intended audience is anybody who might click on the links to the sponsored nursing schools, namely people interested in pursuing a career in nursing. This website is not intended for those already enrolled in college.
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