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Effective Internet Research

Effective Internet Research. Mikva Challenge: Democracy in Action Curriculum. Where to Start?. A good place to start internet research is on the web’s largest search engine: Google, www.google.com .

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Effective Internet Research

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  1. Effective Internet Research Mikva Challenge: Democracy in Action Curriculum

  2. Where to Start? • A good place to start internet research is on the web’s largest search engine: Google, www.google.com. • Yahoo’s search engine works a bit differently so you might want to check it out as well: www.yahoo.com.

  3. Tips for Searching • Choose your keywords carefully. • If you are looking for information about an exact phrase or individual, put quotation marks around the phrase or name. • If you don’t find what you need on Google or Yahoo, try other search engines like Ask.com (www.ask.com), Lycos (www.lycos.com), AltaVista (www.altavista.com), or Search.com (www.search.com), Bing (www.bing.com) • If you are trying to find current news about an issue, all of the search engines have a “news” link on their homepage. • If you don’t find what you are looking for, try using a slightly different combination of keywords.

  4. Finding information you can trust • When was the site last updated? • Who sponsors the website? • Does the site advocate a particular position (is it biased)? • Does the website appear professional (correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation)? • Are there links to other websites or references to other works on the topic? • Does the website reflect what I already know?

  5. Website Reliability: Validity • Who is the author(s) of the site? Look for their credentials. • Is contact information provided? The author should be accountable for her/his work. • Is there a link provided to their homepage? Look for a reliable institution. • What is the first part (major domain) of the web address (URL)? This indicates the site's origin: • .com or .net = commercial • .edu = education • .org = non-profit organization • .gov = government • .mil = military • .cu = Cuba (.it = Italy, etc.) ~ usually means an individual maintains the site (as opposed to an institution)

  6. Website Reliability: Currency • When was the site last updated? A reliable site is frequently revised and improved. • When was the site first created? A site's longevity is a clue to its stability.

  7. Website Reliability: Content • What is the depth and extensiveness of the information offered? Be wary of too much or too little. • Are there links to other useful and reliable sites? They should be relevant to the subject matter.

  8. Website Reliability: Purpose • What is the site trying to do? • Is this site trying to persuade you? Educate you? Market a product? • For instance, a .com site may try sell you something whereas an .edu site most often exists for the sake of education. • Are there any biases that might be promoted: racial, gender, religious, or other types? • Even non-profit .org sites may be biased.

  9. Website Reliability: Accuracy • How can you ensure the information is precise, authoritative, and current? • The author should cite the sources used. • Check the sources cited – are they reliable?

  10. How to Cite your Sources • Format:Author's last name, Author's first name. "Title of Document." (Online) Document date. URL (visited: date of visit). • Example: Salda, Michael. "Cinderella Project." (Online) December, 1997. http://www-dept.usm.edu/~engdept/cinderella/cinderella.html (visited: December 8, 1999).

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