updated: 24 April 2006

What is the Purpose of the Page or Site? Is it Objective?

Following here and on the next few pages are some questions to ask yourself about the purpose of a webpage or site and the objectivity of the information it provides.

Who is the intended audience?

• Is the content of the page intended for entertainment or enlightenment?
• Does the information seem geared towards specialists on a topic or towards novices?

These two questions are important to consider within the framework of your research topic.  At times, you may only want introductory information intended for a novice and at other times you will want or need to examine more advanced or specialized information.  Sometimes information meant for entertainment may be appropriate for research you are conducting.  For example, a website meant to promote tourism in Greece is largely geared towards people looking to travel or vacation there, but may be valuable for research on tourism marketing.  Always ask yourself, who is this information intended for, and how does this information fit into my research topic?

Ready to move on? Go to Purpose and Objectivity cont'd...

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