Website Evaluation of Central Intelligence Agency

Prepared for
Ms. Bambi Van Horn
Chair Woman of the Board
MakeMyDay, Inc.













Prepared by
Janeth Barocio
February 12, 2013





















Website Overview- The objective of the paper is to determine whether the website for the Central
Intelligence Agency is of good use or not. The website briefly goes over various aspects of what the
Central Intelligence Agency does, its vision, mission, and the different opportunities available. To find
out if the website is a good resource it was judged on various criteria such as how credible, accurate,
and up to date it is as well as coverage of information and the overall design of the website.

Evaluation of Central Intelligence Agency
Authority- Since the website is of the Central Intelligence Agency and is related to government it is
considered to have a good reputation for being honest and reliable. However this isn't exactly correct
because the page contains a disclaimer stating that information is not guaranteed to be accurate and
reliable due to other websites having access to post information or links to the CIA page itself. The page
has limited authority due to such a disclaimer and therefore might lose credibility to a certain extent
since they cannot control everything on their own page.

Accuracy- Many individuals don't know much about the CIA but the little that is known and portrayed
about the CIA seems accurate with information presented on their website. Their mission statement for
example is, "We are the nations first line of defense. We accomplish what others cannot accomplish
and go where others cannot go." (cite website) They are usually known to most individuals for defending
the nation at any and all cost, making this statement accurate. However like was mentioned under
authority of the website, credibility is always affected when other websites have access to post on the
page.
Currency- the information on the site is current and up to date. The last time that it was updated was on
January 10th of 2013 so currency is not an issue with the website. Under each different section or page
the website gives dates on the last time that that certain page was revised and updated. Highly
recommended if looking for a current article with specific and accurate dates.

Coverage- The site gives a wide range of information including about the CIA, history of the CIA, Acts and
Policies, Leadership in the CIA, and many other types of information. It even provides a virtual tour of
the headquarters. It serves a broad area of coverage and would definitely be a good source if looking for
any type of information over CIA.

Objectivity- The source reaches the objective of informing about the CIA without being too biased. It is
clear about informing and there is no attempt of enforcing an opinion on an individual besides
mentioning that it is one of the top lines of defense in the nation. Others might think otherwise but
other than that information, the rest is unbiased. The site is also not under construction and is free of
advertisements giving it bonus points in the aspect of credibility.

Website Design- The design of the website is organized however it is not very appealing. There is so
much information on the page that it makes it difficult to follow. It also has a dull color selection with
different fonts making it difficult to concentrate on reading. The design of the website is crucial to the
effectiveness of the website. "Due to the increasing popularity of Web, one can be very cautious in
designing the Website. Poor and careless web design leads to hard ship to public utility and does not
serve the purpose." (Sreedhar) This website could use altering when it comes to web design because it
doesn't appear too appealing to the eye and therefore doesn't make it easy to follow.

Reference Page
Sreedhar, G. G., Chari, A. A., & Ramana, V. (2010). Evaluating Qualitative Measures for Effective
Website Design.International Journal On Computer Science & Engineering, 161-68

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. /library/publications/the-world-factbook