using web sites

10/15/02

Seton Hall University

Dr. Maxine N. Lurie

History Department

Using the Web.

    The following contains instructions and explanations for using websites and their materials. This includes information on the following topics:
    (1) How to know what you are looking at.
        (a) The difference between a website and web pages.
        (b) How to understand addresses.
    (2) How to evaluate what you are looking at.
        (a) Is the site reliable?
            Who created it?
            Why was it created?
            Where is it located?
            When was it created?
        (b) Is it useful?
            What information does it provide?
            What can you learn from this information?
        (c) Are there other better sources?
    (3) How to cite internet materials in papers including footnotes and bibliographies.
        What you need to include.
            URL / address.
            Name or title.
            Who created it.
            Date and time you used it.
            Suggested format.
    (4) If it does not work.
            Disappearing sites.
            Changing addresses.
            Downed servers.
            Uncooperative computers.
            Problematic addresses.

(I). How to know what you are looking at.
(a) Difference between a Website and Web pages.

A WEBSITE consists of a number of pages. The entire diagram to the left is the "website." It consists of levels A, B, C, etc.

The first page, or Home Page, introduces and indexes the site. In Professor Lurie's courses entering http://pirate.shu.edu/~luriemax
will take you to Level A, the Home Page. This is one of a number of pages within the site.

Clicking on your syllabus, or entering it in the address, will bring you to Level B.

Once in the syllabus clicking on Extra Credit, or entering it into the address, will bring you to Level C.

Some sites then also have Level D. E, F etc.

To complete an assignment on a website you must look at the site's various pages. You can not use a page within the site as the website. For example to evaluate Professor Lurie's website you would need to look at levels A, B, and C.

(b) How to understand addresses.
Website addresses both hide and disclose their content. For example http://www.shu.edu is the address for Seton Hall University's Home Page. You probably know that, but someone from outside the University probably does not. The edu at the end of this address says it is an educational site. Other standard parts of an address that can sometimes (but not always) help you know about the site are com for commercial, gov for government, org for a nonprofit organization, and mil for military, net for internet provider. Longer addresses then add directory and file names. For example longman.awl.com/garraty/primarysource_11_1 is the address for a publishing company (longman) and then for an American History text book; garraty is the directory for the textbook, and primarysource_11_1 is for the file that contains a particular document (in this case a letter from Nathaniel Hawthorne).
In reading addresses for history websites it is also useful to know that loc is Library of Congress, nps is National Park Service, and Nara is National Archives.

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(2) How to evaluate what you are looking at.

When you use sites and when you write reports about them you need to ask a number of questions.

        (a) Is the site reliable? To try and answer this you need to find some of the following information.
            Who created it?
            Where is it located?
            When was it created?
Material from a site that has edu in its address may have been put on the internet by a scholar at a university (and say shu.edu), but it also could be a student. If the address says http://sandyhook.k-12.edu it may have been created by a fourth grade student at the local elementary school. Look for information about the person who created the site and where it is located. This should help you determine if it is reliable.

        (b) Is it useful? You need to ask how much information is provided, what the information consists of, whether it is useful -- or if you could find the same information just by opening your text book for the course.
            What information does it provide?
            What can you learn from this information?

(c) Are there other better sources? You also need to ask if you could find more information, better information, or do your research faster by going to the library and looking for old fashioned paper text.

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(3) How to cite internet materials in papers including footnotes and bibliographies.

      What you need to include.   When you use electronic materials you need to provide citations just as you do for other sources. In doing so you must include the following information because it is a different medium.
            URL or address. For example http://pirate.shu.edu/~luriemax/syllabus2.html
            Name or title. For example Professor Lurie's Syllabus for US History II. Remember the internet address does not always explain what the site it. Most sites also have titles, if not give it one that describes the site.
            Date and time you used it. Important because sites disappear and they change. You need to document when you looked at it.

Most books and pamphlets that provide information on citation methods for historians now include suggestions for citing internet materials. You can check them for forms or go to: Citation List at the Library of Congress website. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/np/pedu/cite.html *note this address probably will not work see below.

Sample information you need to include would be: Professor Lurie's Syllabus for US History II. http://pirate.shu.edu/~luriemax/syllabius2.html Created by Professor Lurie at Seton Hall University on January 11, 1999. Site visited on January 21, 1999 at 10pm.

Suggested format using a site on President McKinley:
Title: The Era of William McKinley
Address: http://www.cohums.ohio-state.edu/history/projects/McKinley/
Created by: K. Austin Kerr, student
Time Viewed: 12:45 pm February 2, 2000

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(4) If it does not work.

Computers can be frustrating. The links to sites do not always work. Some of the reasons are:
        Disappearing sites. Websites that are no longer out there in cyberspace.
        Changing addresses. It has moved to a different server, and did not leave a moving-to address behind.
        Downed servers. The server on the other end is not working. If you try a few minutes or days later it may work just fine.
        Uncooperative computers. No logical reason! Try again. If it still does not work try to find another way to get there.
        Problematic addresses. For example the address above for the Citation List.* Some long addresses do not work, but if you back up you can get into the site at another level. Try going to http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem
and search for the Citation list.

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