HRD > 

Acceptance Criteria for Inclusion in a Link Directory

DAS Human Resources uses the following selection criteria to ensure impartial, quality link directories. Few resources will meet all criteria; DAS/HRD will balance strengths against shortcomings in evaluating each resource. Any of these criteria may provide an overwhelming reason to either select or reject a specific resource.

1. Purpose

The purpose of the resource must be clearly stated and fulfill the stated purpose of the directory.

2. Audience

The resource must appeal to the intended users of the directory and satisfy the needs of this audience.  The language and reading level must be appropriate to this audience.

3. Content

The information should be factual in nature.  The resource should contain original information, or it can be an index to other related resources not already listed.

Preference will be given to resources that provide information completely rather than information that has been abstracted from another resource or resources.

The author or provider of the resource should have a commitment to its ongoing maintenance and stability.

4. Accuracy

The information in the resource must be accurate as best as can be determined. There must be no political or ideological biases.  There should be a technically balanced viewpoint, or it should be clear if it is not.

5. Authority

The resource must be provided by a reputable publisher, organization, or expert.  The author's or provider's qualifications and credentials should be stated on the Web site. Sources of information should be cited and should be verifiable.

6. Currency

Resources with more current information will be given preference.  Update frequency is also a major consideration for some directories.

7. Scope

The scope of the resource should match the expectations of the intended audience.  Aspects of scope may include:

Breadth: Are all aspects of the subject covered?

Depth: To what level of detail in the subject does the resource go?

Time: Is the information in the resource limited to certain time periods?

8. Uniqueness

A resource should not duplicate information already available at resources already in the directory.  Resources with unique and desirable features will be given preference.

9. Stability

The resource is expected to remain available for the foreseeable future.  If the resource provider requested the addition of the link, the resource provider must agree to notify DAS/HRD if the link changes.

10. Format and appearance

The format of the resource should be intuitive and clearly organized.  The most important content features should be easy to find.  The resource should be interesting to look at, and any visual elements should enhance the resource.

11. Workability

The resource should be convenient and effective to use.

Aspects of workability include:

User friendliness: Is the resource easy to use? Does it respond to a variety of browsers and connections?

Searchability: How effectively can information be retrieved from the resource? Is the resource organized in a logical manner to facilitate searching? Is the organizational scheme appropriate? Is a useful search engine provided? What operators and ranking features are available? Is the search engine interface intuitive? Does the search engine index the whole resource?

Connectivity: Can the resource be accessed with standard equipment and software, or are there special software, password, or network requirements? Can the resource be accessed reliably and quickly, or is it frequently overloaded or offline? Does it support terminal access as well as graphical browsers?

12. Cost

Any resource that requires the user to give a credit card number or incur any fees to use the site must clearly be indicated to the user.

 Each link will be checked for viability on a frequent basis by link-checking software. Any dead link will be removed or replaced.

Additionally, DAS/HRD will regularly re-evaluate all links using DAS/HRD's selection criteria to determine their ongoing appropriateness. Any resource that has changed substantially and no longer meets the selection criteria will be removed. Any resource may also be replaced by a comparable resource that better meets the selection criteria.