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MCOM 4213 Mass Communication Law & Ethics

Legal & ethical issues likely to confront media professionals.

Websites

Resources from the Web

Check out these sites to get help with research or writing, or to see organizations associated with Mass Communication.

Always be cautious when using sites from the open internet, and be sure to read websites critically.

Writing Websites

These websites can teach you to write better.

Suggested Websites

Read Websites Critically

Anyone can publish anything on the internet.

Use the Spider Method to ensure that your internet sources are appropriate for your research.

Source

Who wrote the information? Is he qualified? If you can’t find an author, you shouldn’t trust the information until you verify it elsewhere.

Purpose

Why does this website exist? Is it intended to sell a product or convince readers of something? Can you detect any bias?

Information

Is the information current? Check for a publication date. If there isn’t one, you need to verify currency with another source.

Domain

Be aware of the host site. Is the domain .edu or .gov? These domains sometimes have more authoritative or reliable information.

Educational

Who is the intended audience? Is there adequate depth to the information? Are you sure it’s not a hoax site or satire?

Reliability

Is the same information available on other websites? Triangulate with other sources to improve the chance of getting complete or accurate information.