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"Just Google It " A Better Way To Find Reliable Information Online

This document outlines criteria for evaluating the reliability of information found online. It discusses evaluating the author (credentials, potential biases), purpose of the site, date published and updated, and ease of use. Key questions are provided to determine the author, purpose, point of view, timeliness and verifiability of facts. Considering these criteria allows students to make informed decisions about source credibility for research. The conclusion emphasizes there is more to research than just Googling topics.

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89 views21 pages

"Just Google It " A Better Way To Find Reliable Information Online

This document outlines criteria for evaluating the reliability of information found online. It discusses evaluating the author (credentials, potential biases), purpose of the site, date published and updated, and ease of use. Key questions are provided to determine the author, purpose, point of view, timeliness and verifiability of facts. Considering these criteria allows students to make informed decisions about source credibility for research. The conclusion emphasizes there is more to research than just Googling topics.

Uploaded by

kjames329
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“Just Google It…”

A Better Way to Find


Reliable Information
Online
A Presentation by Kristel Shutt James
Created for CIMT509
Summer I 2010
So here it is…
…Mr. James has finally given you the specific details of
the English research paper. You resist the temptation to
procrastinate and head to the library. You know your
topic and thesis; all you need is some specific
information to support your ideas.
…So now what? If you are like most people, you head
for the computer, type in those magic words, and…
www.google.com

Your strategy is logical, right? After all, Google is


one of the largest search engines in the world,
capable of locating millions of matches to your
search request.
There’s just one problem…

I found all these creatures using Google!

A living, breathing tree


octopus?

A real beach
bunny?
An 18th- Century
Robot?
How is that possible?
• Anyone can create a Web site. Most sites are created
by non-experts.
• No one evaluates the quality or accuracy of the
information found on the Web.
• Since much of your grade depends upon the quality
of your research, you need to be sure that the
information you include is accurate.
• The purpose of this presentation is to show you how
to evaluate the resources that Google and any other
search engine helps you locate.
Criteria for Evaluating Web
Pages
• Throughout your schooling, you’ve learned that one
way to collect information is to ask questions. We’re
going to use those same questions to guide our
evaluation of web pages.
o Who? o Why?
o What? o How?
o When?
Criteria #1: Who?
Identifying the author of resource is the first step in
evaluating a resource.
• Who wrote the page?
• What makes him/her an expert on this topic?
• How can you contact him/her?
• Can you verify the credentials or contact information?
• Who published the page? What is the connection between the
author and publisher?
• What do others think of this page?
How can you find these answers?
Criteria #1: Who?
Who wrote the page?
• Finding the author’s name is relatively easy.
Web pages are often
constructed in much
the same way
magazine articles
are, with a byline to
identify the author.

The byline clearly identifies


the author’s name.
Criteria #1: Who?
You can locate clues about the authorship of a web page
from the URL, the Uniform Resource Locator, the
unique address that identifies where the information can
be located on the internet.
• Start with the domain type. The suffix tells you the what type
of site it is:
– .gov = government Which type of site
– .mil = military is most
appropriate to
– .edu = education your topic?
– .org = nonprofit organization
– .net = network organization
– .com = for-profit/business organization
Criteria #1: Who?
And there’s more you can learn from the URL.
• Look for a personal name followed by a tilde (~), a percent
sign (%), or the words “members,” “users,” or “people.”
These indicate the site is a personal web page. Personal sites
generally offer someone’s opinion.
– What can we learn from this URL?
~ followed by
a name means
it’s a personal
http://pubweb.acris.nwu.edu/~abutz page
A personal site housed
.edu means its based in an in an educational institution may
educational environment be reliable…if the person’s
credentials relate
to the topic.
Criteria #1: Who?
What do we know about the author?
• What makes him/her an expert on this topic? Investigate by
looking for more information.
– Does the site identify education degrees or other reasons for expertise?
– If not, use Google or Yahoo! to search for the author.
• How can you contact him/her? Check the site for contact
information.
• Don’t settle for just an email address. A reputable resource will
provide additional information.
Criteria #1: Who?
But what if you can’t find an author? Where do you
look then?
• Who published the page?
– The publisher is the agency or person who operates the
server which hosts the web page.
– It is usually named in the first part of the URL (between
http:// and the first /)

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA254
410.html
School Library Journal is the publisher. Good
news! It’s a reputable periodical.
Criteria #1: Who?
We need to look further.
• What is the connection between the author and publisher?
– Look for information about the publisher. What does
information available in About Us, Philosophy, Background,
Biography, or Mission Statement tell you about the author
and/or publisher?
– Does this interest align with the subject and message of the web
page?
Criteria #1: Who?
Another way that we can evaluate the credibility of a
web page is to investigate how others view the page and
its author.
• Who links to the page?
- You can find out about
linking pages by pasting
the URL into the search
box of www.alexa.com
and clicking “Get
Details.”
Criteria #1: Who?

Does this summary sound like a


reputable resource?

1262 sites link


to this one.
Does that
make it
reputable?
Click on the
number to find
Sometimes you can find reviews of out more.
sites here. But not this time. Does
that tell you anything?
Criteria #1: Who?

What kind
When you click of sites link
on the number, to your
you’ll find a list
of sites linking page?
to the page you
are
investigating. Do these look like reliable
sites? Are they appropriate
for research?
“Cheesy_music”?
“AMAZING-How_Tin_Foil
_Is_Made”? Maybe not.
Criteria #2: What?
The “What” questions are designed to get you thinking
about the purpose for the page’s creation. What does
the author hope to achieve by publishing the site? Is it
intended to inform? Persuade? Sell? Entertain? You
must view sites critically in order to assess the value of
information presented at the site.
• What is the purpose of the site?
• What is the site’s intended audience?
• Does it present general or specific information?
Criteria #3: Why?
The “Why” and “What” overlap somewhat since both are
concerned with the motivation of the author. However,
the “Why” questions are intended to examine more
deeply the motives of the author and/or publisher.
• Why was the site created?
• What point-of-view is reflected in the information and how it
is presented?
• Does it push a specific perspective and present biased
information?
• Does is contain advertising? If so, is there a conflict of
interest between the ads and the content?
Criteria #4: When?
With some topics, the currency of information is
relatively unimportant (e.g. a site that provides access to
photos from the Civil War), but one of the benefits of
accessing the internet is having access to the newest
information.
• When was the information published?
• When was it last updated?
• Do links to other pages work?
• Does timeliness matter to your research topic?
Criteria #5: How?
The “How” questions focus on primarily on design
elements. These are important because they show a
creator’s sophistication and concern about making
information easily available to users.
• Is the site easy to navigate? Do all links and buttons work?
• How professional does it look? Are there grammar and
spelling errors?
• Can factual information be verified using other sources?
Conclusion
When you consider all these criteria and use the
checklist your teacher has provided for you, you can
make informed decisions about the credibility of the
sources you are finding…and that will make your final
product much more credible too!

And remember, there’s a lot more to research than to


“just Google it!”

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