Website: http://www.stanford.edu/group/cpima/education/nanotube_lesson.

pdf, Accessed:
6/05/2014
Citation: (Dai, 2003)
Credibilit
y

Accuracy

Bias

Suitabilit
y

I used this university site to gather the information for the LEDs. The
university is Stanford University one of the leading universities in the world
(top 6). The knowledge they give out to people will be credible and therefore
is trust worthy for educational purposes. To make sure that the site is
credible, I researched the author of the site, which was Hongjie Dai. Mr Dai is
a professor in the Stanford University, and his profession is with chemistry. As
carbon nanotubes are mainly associated with chemistry (properties of carbon
nanotubes and how the carbon nanotube works), it is safe to say that the
information Dr Dai has gathered is credible and trustworthy. 2 years ago Dr
Hongjie Dai has unveiled a technique to make carbon nanotubes attractive
and low cost. This shows that the professor has been working with carbon
nanotubes for a long time. By comparing the factors listed in this paragraph I
can safely say that the site is credible.
Certain sites may look credible, but the information put in the site may not be
accurate. Therefore, the accuracy for each site used must be checked to
inform the researcher that the information is either inaccurate or accurate.
For this specific site, the information is fairly accurate as the person who
published this particular site is an expert in carbon nanotubes as explained in
credibility. By using the protocols for determining the accuracy of a site, this
particular site has accurate information that could be useful. The factors that
led to this conclusion are: there are verifiable references for the information
in the site. The sources at which the information was gathered from was from
other universities (University of Wisconsin), and a researched document from
researchers. The given information also agrees with two or three different
sources (not from University of Wisconsin). The information provided by the
site has a good flow to it. The information does not contradict itself which
gives it the good flow. Therefore, in conclusion this site is accurate.
There is no bias in the information in the site/document. The document is not
comparing the pros and cons of other products to show that either CNTs are
bad or good. The documents is an informational document that talks about
how to make carbon nanotubes and their properties. This site is mainly
created to inform students/people about carbon nanotubes, and only states
the facts about the carbon nanotubes. There is no hidden message in the
information. Therefore, by assessing the factors that determine that a
particular site is biased, I have concluded that this particular site is not biased
and therefore would be very useful for educational purposes
However, the information in the document was from 2003, and hasnt been
updated since. This makes the information unsuitable for the purposes of our
group as technology has improved over the last ten years and the knowledge
that could be used in the document is behind. Other researchers may already
have found a new key component in carbon nanotubes. Up to date
information for this site is crucial as carbon nanotubes are one of the
promising nanotechnologies that could help improve the technology we have
today. The information would be accurate in 2003, but in 2014 that
information is not reliable. However, there are some information that is still
the same today. This information could be used for educational purposes
because they are still accurate (i.e. models and pictures).

Website:http://education.mrsec.wisc.edu/IPSE/educators/activities/supplements/carbonNanotubeGuide.pdf, Accessed: 6/05/2014

Citation: (University of Wisconsin, 2002)
Credibilit
y

Accuracy

Bias

There are two authors for this site: the ISPE (International Society for
Pharmaceutical Engineering) and the University of Wisconsin. They made a
partnership and made a specific site that is solely focused on
Nanotechnology. The University of Wisconsin Materials Research Science
and Engineering Centre. This particular university has the focuses of its
research on nanotechnology and carbon nanotubes. Most of the courses that
are available in this university has either nanotechnology or carbon
nanotubes as a course. This shows that the learning of the students in
focused in these subjects, and would be a credible source of information for
carbon nanotubes. The co-Author of the site is ISPE. The ISPE is the
International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering, which is the worlds
largest not for profit association that serves its members by leading scientific,
technical advancement and regulatory. The members of the ISPE includes
engineers,
microbiologists,
chemists,
QA/QC,
production,
process
development, pharmacists, and other professionals contribute their expertise
through the participation in ISPE activities. The ISPEs main focus is to create
high-quality, cost effective, GMP (Genetically Modified Products) solutions.
According to the purposes of the authors and their members, this site is
deemed credible and trustworthy.
The page does not have cited sources or verifiable references. However, this
does not mean that the site is not accurate because there is no verifiable
references in the site. There are also other factors that shows that a particular
site has accurate information. One of these factors is that students from the
university use this information for their learning, and therefore the
information has to be accurate for public use. However, to ensure that the
information is accurate it is compared to two or three other sites that are very
reliable and credible (university and government sites). The information does
agree to two or three other sites. The facts seems that they have are
believable considering how advanced the technology that we have today.
Therefore according to these factors this particular site is accurate and could
be used for educational purposes.
The information provided isnt the opinion of the authors, this is because the
authors purpose for this site is to educate students about carbon nanotubes.
The information isnt trying to persuade the reader to have a biased opinion
about carbon nanotubes. The site is just stating the facts about nanotube,
because it says Fact Sheet as a title for one of the pages. The fact sheet talks
about both sides of the carbon nanotube (i.e. good aspects of the nanotube
and the bad aspects of the nanotube). Since this is a site created by a
university and ISPE there is no hidden message behind the information, just

Suitabilit
y

facts. Therefore, according to the factors showed in this paragraph, the site is
unbiased and could be useful for learning.
The site may be credible, accurate and unbiased, but some sites are not
suitable for your purposes. One of the factors that show that a site is suitable
is the information contained in the site. If the site does not give the
information that you/your group needs then that site is probably not suitable
for you. For example, this site has information that is relevant to what my
group is using it for. This site contains facts (properties and how they are
made) about carbon nanotubes therefore, this site is suitable for our group.
Another factor for determining a site that is suitable is the date of publication.
For this site it was published in 2002, which would make the information
unreliable since technology has moved on and advanced since 2002. Some of
the information might not even be relevant to the product. Also check if the
site is being updated. For this site it hasnt been updated since 2002,
therefore the information would be irrelevant. Therefore, according to the
factors showed in this paragraph, this site is unsuitable, but there are
information that would still be suitable today.

Website:
http://ion.chem.usu.edu/~tapaskar/Britt-Quantum%20Dots.pdf,
Accessed: 19/08/2014
Citation: (Utah State University, n.d.)
Credibili
ty

Accurac
y

The site being used for this research project is from another university
site. The site was made by the Utah State University department of
chemistry & biochemistry. This university is known for its top-notch
academics, nationally recognized research, and more than 200 student
clubs and organizations. It was one of the top 150 universities in the
world. Therefore, according to the background of its site author this site is
credible. However, to make sure that the site is actually credible, the
author of the article is checked. The author of the article is Brittany Webb.
Brittany Webb was one of the top recognized students in the Utah State
University College of Science Faculty. Brittany Webb was a College of
Science Student Senator during the 2006-07 academic year. She has also
made other articles about Quantum Dots, and articles about the related
field. She is a senior dual-majoring in physics and chemistry, which means
that she knows a lot about things related to chemistry and physics.
Therefore, the work that she has done is credible according to her
background.
Some sites that are made by the university or government may have false
information about the topic. To determine that a site is accurate or not,
there are certain factors that needs to be considered. One of them is that
are there any other reliable sources that could be used to verify the
information. The site used does not have other credible sources or reliable
sources that could verify the information. However, this does not mean
that the information provided by this site is inaccurate. There are other
considerations that needs to be taken that determines the accuracy of a
particular article. Cross-referencing the information from that site is a
good way to determine that the information is accurate. If two or more

Bias

Suitabili
ty

sites that have the same information from this site, it is considered
accurate. I have cross-referenced the information from this site with two
other sites and it seems that the information from this site were similar to
other sites. Another consideration to be taken is that does the information
contradict itself? The information from this site does not contradict itself.
The last consideration that needs to be taken is that are there obvious
gaps or holes in the information? Reading from the information, the
information seems to flow well, and there are no obvious gaps or
incomplete information. Therefore, by taking all of these considerations
into account, the information provided in this site is accurate.
Looking at the information provided by the author, it seems that his/her
intention was to provide information about quantum dots, and inform
people about their existence, nothing more. The author was stating facts
about the quantum dots and how they work. However, the author stated
that she decided to research about quantum dots. In the end of her
introduction, she stated ..as cool as I originally through they were
THEYRE BETTER! I think this is to show that quantum dots are better
than other materials, and is trying to persuade the reader to change their
opinion of the quantum dots. The author also only showed information
about how good the quantum dots are. Therefore, I have concluded that
the information is biased.
There is no date for when the document was made, and therefore the
information cannot be determined as old or new. However, the date of
which the document was created is not the only way to determine whether
a source is suitable or not. Depending on how the source is used, it can be
suitable or not suitable. For the purposes of this investigation, the source
is suitable to use. However, it cannot be used for professional purposes as
it is biased, and the date of creation is unknown. The information shown in
this source is suitable for school purposes only.