Defining Your Website's Objectives

I began my search of Criminal Justice web pages with our very own University of Southern Mississippi page. In my opinion, this page is okay. The web page for Mesa State College Criminal Justice Department was boring. There was not enough information provided to determine if this was the career field that I wanted to enter. It had a couple pictures, and a few links, but other than that, there was no real information for me to base a good determination. The web page that I liked the best was for Sam Houston State University, College of Criminal Justice. This web page has all sorts of information. This is an awesome page to determine if this is the field of study you want to enter. It also has information available for the current student as well as the prospective student. This page also has several areas that you can access for whatever questions you might have in regards to the criminal justice field.

Overall Purpose

1) What are you writing? I will be creating a website to invite current and prospective students to the Criminal Justice career field.

2) What prompts you to write? The need for future law enforcement officers, corrections officers, victim services specialists, lawyers to be educated.

3) What outcome do you desire? I want students to be interested in the criminal justice field. To accomplish this, my website needs to be eye catching. It needs to be easy to follow. All relative information needs to be in the same places.

4) What outcome does your reader desire? The reader wants something that is easy on the eyes. Something that is easy to follow. The font needs to be large enough to read. Simple pages with relative information grouped together.

Reader Profile

1) Who is your primary reader? The primary reader would be current students who are looking for specifics on the criminal justice field or classes and/or prospective students. Those students who have not yet decided on a major or perhaps even a college.

2) What is your reader’s relationship to you? The reader’s relations may be someone who will be a possible team mate, fellow officer, or prosecutor. The reader may also be the parent of a new student looking for a college for their son/daughter to attend. The site needs to be informational.

3) What are your reader’s job title and responsibilities? My readers might be corrections officers, law enforcement officers, Secret Service agents who require additional course to remain current. They could also be freshman students who are considering a career in criminal justice or perhaps beginning their studies to be a lawyer or judge.

4) Who else might read your communication? Other that might access this website could be current professionals who are writing referrals for others. There might also be parents or family members who are looking for a career or a career change. Perhaps students who are critiquing websites for their ENG333 class!

5) How familiar is your reader with your subject? Some of my readers may be very knowledgeable in the criminal justice field. Others may not know anything at all about the field. I believe most will have some idea about the field but just in case, the website needs to be written in simple language—something easy to read.

6) How familiar is your reader with your specialty? Some readers may know lots about the specialties but not all of them. It’s important to talk about each one consistently, with the same amount of information for each.

7) Does your reader have any communication preferences you should take into account? Some readers may have learning disabilities or other physical or mental disabilities that could limit what they understand or their ability to access the site. The website needs to be 508 compliant.

8) Should you take into account any other things about your reader when writing? We should take into consideration that some readers may not be computer savvy and the fewer mouse clicks to get somewhere, the better.

Situational Analysis

1) What events and circumstances influence the way you should write? When you write, you need to take into consideration what has happened in the past and how the field may have reacted to certain situations. You also need to look at what may be happening in the future and how the field may be changed. Perhaps an increase in the number of individuals interested in the field may require additional classes.

Usability Objectives

1) What are the key questions your reader will ask while reading? Key questions may be:

a. Where do I go for additional information?

b. What are the requirements for obtaining a degree in Criminal Justice?

c. How long will it take for me to complete my degree?

d. What jobs will this degree get me?

e. Can I go further in this field?

2) How will your reader search for the answer? The reader will most likely look for certain key words: Criminal Justice, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, corrections, victim services, law enforcement. Some readers may read the entire section from beginning to end to ensure everything is covered.

3) How will your reader use the information you provide? The reader will use most of the information to determine how it will affect him/her. They may also use the links provided to obtain information for work purposes. Maybe they will use the information provided to build a briefing.

Persuasive Objectives

1) What is your reader’s attitude toward your subject? Why? What do you want it to be? I’d like the reader to be excited about the criminal justice career field. I want to provide information so they can make an educated decision about a career they’d love to pursue.

2) What is your reader’s attitude toward you? Why? What do you want it to be? I want the reader to believe what I’ve written. I want them to return to the website many times. I want them to be able to use the site for references.

Stakeholders

1) Who, besides your readers, are stakeholders in your communication? Stakeholders might be others in the criminal justice field. If there is bad information out there, the credibility of the field may be questionable.

2) How will they be affected by it? If the information is bad, the reader may decide not to enter the criminal justice field. They may think because this information is posted that all the information in the field is bad.

Constraints

1) What expectations, regulations, or other factors limit the way you can write? Expectations may be that I need to do lots of research about creating good websites. I am limited by the amount of knowledge I currently have. I need to ensure that all readers have access to the web site. I need to ensure that proper citations are credited when using information written by others. I need to make sure my site is believable, interesting not boring. It needs to grab attention but doesn’t need to go overboard.

The one thing that I found with the web sites I looked at in completing this blog is that the attention grabbing color is crucial as well as simplicity in the page. Information that is related needs to be kept together, but the page can’t have too much information on it. Links to different pages is good, especially when there might be too much information for one page.