Kerry Kao

Research Worksheet #1
Website review
Instructions
In this assignment you are asked to visit and explore a pair of websites, and to review them using
the attached worksheet. This assignment is worth 100 points, or 10% of your grade.
For each website, dont restrict yourself to the given page only. If links on that page send you to
related pages, please explore them. Please download this worksheet, fill it out electronically,
and turn it in via SafeAssign sometime on Friday September 11. You need not keep the first
page. Thank you.
Goals
This worksheet addresses four of the intellectual goals listed on the syllabus:
1) discern among and evaluate competing claims or approaches to myths or to the problems they
explore
2) read critical scholarly literature, identifying and assessing the shape and agenda of a scholarly
argument and interrelating it to other texts/readings
3) understand the cultural and individual contingency of myth
4) recognize myths at work and play in your own culture and life

By assessing online resources about myth, you will evaluate what sorts of information web
authors choose to include on their websites, and the way they compose and arrange that
information to promote a certain understanding (their understanding) of mythology. This
exploration of modern uses and presentations of myth reinforces a central course lesson: that
myths are not universal or absolute but are told, constructed, mobilized, and meaningful in
specific cultural and personal contexts.
Strategies
Please read through the questions before you complete the worksheet, even before you visit the
websites. Then spend some time browsing the websites before you begin to fill out the
worksheet. Browse thoroughly go beyond the landing point, please. Do this assignment early
enough that if one of the links does not work (which occasionally happens, though we checked
them recently), you can contact us for alternatives.
Website pair
a) http://www.theoi.com/
b) http://onespiritx.tripod.com/gods10.htm

Website a
1. Describe: What is the title of this website? Please list it as you would for a bibliography. The
Chicago Manual of Style suggests that, when you cite a website, it should follow this format:
Author. Title. Last modified date OR date accessed. URL. (5 pts)
Google. Google Privacy Policy. Last modified March 11, 2009. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.

Atsma, Aaron J. Theoi Greek Mythology. Accessed September 9, 2015. http://www.theoi.com.

2. Describe: What mythic material does the website (not just the landing page) cover? You need
not be specific an overview will suffice (gods, gods and heroes, texts, women, many cultures,
only Greek and Roman, etc,). Please elaborate. (5 pts)
The website covers a wide variety of not only major gods and goddesses, but also titans, heroes,
minor gods and goddesses, and creatures and sprites. Additionally, there are also myths and
Greek artwork available for perusal.
3. Describe: How is the content of the website (not just the landing page) organized? (e.g. by
culture, historical period, character, text, etc.). Is it primarily hierarchical, or are there lateral
(side-to-side) connections or some other organizational scheme? (5 pts)
From the landing page, you can choose from a variety of subject areas including Greek gods and
goddesses, fabulous creatures, and mythology classic texts. In those categories there are
subcategories to choose from; for example subcategories of Greek gods and goddesses are
Olympian gods, and titan gods. Once exploring a specific article or god/goddess, the content is
extremely large. The content is thorough, and is mostly organized by hierarchy; broad to specific.
If you want to learn specific details about an event, like Apollos birth, there are hyperlinks
embedded within the text to lead you to other pages.
4. Analyze: What does this organization suggest about the authors perspective on ancient
mythology? How does this organization direct their audience through the material? How
effective is that guidance? (10 pts)
Based on the complexity and the amount of research needed to put together this website, the
organization suggests that the author is well-versed and considers themselves an expert of Greek
mythology. Also, the author must be fairly passionate about Greek mythology to put together a
website of this size. I think the website is organized for people who know what they are looking
for specifically; the website doesnt really direct the audience through the material, rather it is
organized for quickly searching for a specific topic, hence the search bar and side bar of
categories. If someone who knew nothing about Greek mythology were to use this website, they
would be very confused.

5. Describe: What sort of evidence do the authors use to make their points? (ancient texts and/or
artworks, dictionaries of mythology, no evidence given, etc.)? (5 pts)
The author uses a lot of evidence from ancient Greek texts/poems, to encyclopedias, to Greek
paintings and sculptures.
6. Analyze: Who is the target audience for this website? How can you tell? (10 pts)
The target audience is people who already have a background of Greek mythology, but are
looking for more specific details or information. The website is structured so that you need to
have some knowledge of Greek mythology to navigate the different categories, and doesnt give
basic knowledge, but rather thorough information.
7. Analyze: What overall argument are the authors making about myth? Put another way, what
is the agenda or bias of the websites creators? (10 pts)
I think the author wants the audience to know that Greek mythology is a sophisticated and
complicated topic, and that the readers should not only know basic information, but fine details
of Greek mythology. Unlike the website Mythweb, this website makes mythology serious and for
mature learners.

Website b
1. Describe: What is the title of this website? Please list it as you would for a bibliography. The
Chicago Manual of Style suggests that, when you cite a website, it should follow this format:
Author. Title. Last modified date OR date accessed. URL. (5 pts)
Google. Google Privacy Policy. Last modified March 11, 2009. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.

One Spirit. Accessed September 9, 2015. http://onespiritx.tripod.com/gods10.htm.

2. Describe: What mythic material does the website (not just the landing page) cover? You need
not be specific an overview will suffice (gods, gods and heroes, texts, women, many cultures,
only Greek and Roman, etc,). Please elaborate. (5 pts)
The website covers major and minor gods and goddesses as well as Greek hero/demigod myths.
However, the information given is limited.
3. Describe: How is the content of the website (not just the landing page) organized? (e.g. by
culture, historical period, character, text, etc.). Is it primarily hierarchical, or are there lateral
(side-to-side) connections or some other organizational scheme? (5 pts)
The website has many hyperlinked names of gods, goddesses, heroes, and myths that take you to
directly to the name that you clicked on a scrolling webpage with a long list of names and
descriptions. The information is organized laterally, with all gods, goddesses, and people in the
same category (i.e. major gods and goddesses) on the same page.
4. Analyze: What does this organization suggest about the authors perspective on ancient
mythology? How does this organization direct their audience through the material? How
effective is that guidance? (10 pts)

The author probably thinks of ancient mythology as a passing curiosity based on the messiness
and informal feel of the website. The webpage isnt organized very well; it only has a few
categories with many, many names to choose from, and doesnt seem to have any guidance. It
seems like reader is supposed to wander aimlessly through the website.5. Describe: What sort of
evidence do the authors use to make their points? (ancient texts and/or artworks, dictionaries of
mythology, no evidence given, etc.)? (5 pts)
There seems to be no listed source as to where the author gained his/her information.
6. Analyze: Who is the target audience for this website? How can you tell? (10 pts)
The target audience is people who want to learn more about ancient mythology, but arent
concerned with thorough material and specific details. It seems this way because the information
just scrapes the surface of ancient mythology, and the information is quick to read.
7. Analyze: What overall argument are the authors making about myth? Put another way, what
is the agenda or bias of the websites creators? (10 pts)
I think that this author believes that ancient mythology is meant to be a passing curiosity based
on the lack of depth in the descriptions of gods, goddesses, and heroes.