Analyzing Websites

Japan Whaling Association->GOOD SOURCE

http://www.whaling.jp/english/

• This website shows the Japanese's perspective on whaling
• This is the actual website of the JWA, so it can be used as a primary source
• It is a great representation of what the JWA wants to portray to the public and what they want to portray themselves
• Has a portion that provides a Q&A
• This will provide great counterarguments for why whaling should be permitted

Greenpeace International->GOOD SOURCE

http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/whaling/

• This shows the American anti-whaling perspective
• This gives information on how whaling harms the environment
• Information on how to contribute to stopping whaling in provided
• Greenpeace is a reliable organization
• Related articles about what is going on in the whaling are provided

Whale Wars: Animal Planet-> BAD SOURCE

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/whale-wars/

• This is a good example of Japanese whaling but it is very biased
• Only shows Japanese whaling, not the whaling habits of other countries
• the show is dramatized and can be edited
• The show is being reviewed only by the TV channel's standards and the company's standards, not exactly what is factual

Sea Shepard->BAD SOURCE

http://www.seashepherd.org/

• This again is dramatized
• May have some good facts, but obviously biased
• Once again only Japanese whaling is being observed
• This is a website about a group who specifically is attacking, so it may warp some facts or neglect to add important information
• Any information that may make whaling seem not as bad will not be presented in the site

Websites are great for finding sources, but there are a lot of drawbacks. Unfortunately websites are often biased, so it is hard to find sites that provided all perspectives. However websites are great to analyze how organizations want to present themselves. Websites usually have links to other related websites that may or may not be useful, but it expands the scope of your research.