Lesson 3: Effective Internet Research

Objectives:
By the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
1. Facilitate the practice in judging the credibility, value, and usefulness of
researched materials.

2. Use the Internet as a tool for credible research and information gathering to best
achieve specific objectives

The Internet has made our lives easier especially in terms of doing research. By browsing the internet,
we can access limitless topics. Web-based catalogs are available in many libraries to assist researchers
in locating printed books, journals, government documents and other materials. The biggest obstacle
facing all researchers on the internet is how to effectively and efficiently access the vast amount of
information available (The Internet: Research Tools, 2013).

SEARCHING THE WEB

There are billions of information on the web and it is a challenge for us to truly find
which information is reliable and relevant. Here are some tips you may use to be able
to look for relevant and reliable sources:
Search Engines are websites used for retrieval of data, files, or documents
from data bases. Some search engines we use today are:

Anatomy of a URL
A URL is one type of Uniform Resource Identifier (URI). It is a generic term
for all types of names and addresses that refer to objects on the world wide
web. Knowing the URL endings will give you clues to who is sponsoring the
website and help evaluate the sources.

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/alternative-searchengines/271409/#close
 1. Protocol 4. Top-level Domain 7. Named anchor
2. Subdomain 5. Folders/ Paths
3. Domain 6. Page

Popular Domains
Top- level Domains Country code top level domains
.edu – educational institution .ph – Philippines
.org – non-profit organization .eu – European Union
.gov – government site .uk – United Kingdom
.com – commercial site .au – Australia
.net - network

Search Skills and Tools

1. Boolean Logic – narrows, broadens, or eliminates search term.
a. Boolean “or” – this operator will find
pages that include either of the search
terms.
Ex. A or B

b. Boolean “and” – this operator will

retrieve only pages containing both
terms
Ex. A and B

A B

c. Boolean “not” – this operator will find

pages that do not include search term
immediately following it.
Ex. A not B

A B

2. Phase Searching – is used to search for famous quotes, proper names,

recommendations, etc. It encloses the phrase in quotation marks.
Ex. “Jane Doe” “To be or not to be”

3. Plus (+) – indicates that the word after the sign is a required word must be
 found in search. Example: +fire

4. Minus (–) sign – indicates to exclude a word from your search that is not
required on the result. Example: Jaguar speed –car

5. Ampersand (@) is used to find social tags. Example: @SteveJobs

6. Hashtag (#) is used to find popular hashtags. Example: #LawOfClassroom

7. Finding Documents – using the filetype refines the search for documents
on the web.
o filetype:pdf
o filetype:doc
o filetype:xls
Ex. ICT in the Philippines pdf
8. Searching Site – the sites find webpage from a website. Ex.: National Geographic
information in Australia Search: Australia site: NationalGeographic.com

EVALUATING SITES
The web provides access to some excellent information and can also give access
to those that are irrelevant and outdated. Here is some checklist that you can use to
evaluate your website:
1. Authority. It reveals that the person, institution or agency responsible for a site
has the qualifications and knowledge to do so. Evaluating a web site for
authority:
✓ Authorship: It should be clear who developed the site.
✓ Contact information should be clearly provided: e-mail address, snail
mail address, phone number, and fax number.
✓ Credentials: the author should state qualifications, credentials, or
personal background that gives them authority to present information.
✓ Check to see if the site supported by an organization or a commercial
body

2. Purpose. The purpose of the information presented in the site should be clear.
Some sites are meant to inform, persuade, state an opinion, entertain, or
parody something or someone. Evaluating a web site for purpose:
✓ Does the content support the purpose of the site?
 ✓ Is the information geared to a specific audience (students, scholars,
general reader)?
✓ Is the site organized and focused?
✓ Are the outside links appropriate for the site?
✓ Does the site evaluate the links?

3. Coverage. This refers to how comprehensive the website is in their discussion

of certain topics. Evaluating a web site for coverage:
✓ Does the site claim to be selective or comprehensive?
✓ Are the topics explored in depth?
✓ Compare the value of the site’s information compared to other similar
sites.
✓ Do the links go to outside sites rather than its own?
✓ Does the site provide information with no relevant outside links?

4. Currency. It refers to: (1) how current the information presented is, and (2)
how often the site is updated or maintained. It is important to know when a site
was created, when it was last updated, and if all of the links are current.
Evaluating a web site for currency involves finding the date information was:
✓ first written
✓ placed on the web
✓ last revised

5. Objectivity. Objective sites present information with a minimum of bias.

Evaluating a web site for objectivity:
✓ Is the information presented with a particular bias?
✓ Does the information try to sway the audience?
✓ Does site advertising conflict with the content?
✓ Is the site trying to explain, inform, persuade, or sell something?

6. Accuracy. It refers to the credibility of the website. Evaluating a web site for
accuracy:
✓ Reliability: Is the author affiliated with a known, respectable institution?
✓ References: do statistics and other factual information receive proper
references as to their origin?
✓ Is the information comparable to other sites on the same topic?
✓ Does the text follow basic rules of grammar, spelling and composition?
✓ Is a bibliography or reference list ?