Tips for internet

searching

by Mrs. TowMay 2014

DO NOT type in questions!

Start by using the fewest number of terms:ex: “blue whale” (not “what is the habitat of the blue whale”)

Put related words in quotes. “ Sea Turtle”

Choose SEARCH TERMS carefully

1) Skip the Ads!2) LOOK at the URL: Is it a familiar (trusted)

name? What is the domain?.gov = government = trusted.edu = education = usually good.com = commercial = ? What is their purpose? Are they selling

something?

.org = organization or group = ? What is their purpose? Bias?

.net = network = ? What is their purpose?

Which sites should you look at?

Website Evaluation

by Mrs. TowMay 2014

What are some of the consequences of using inaccurate information?

bad gradelose moneylose your joblose your LIFE!

Why is it important to evaluate web sites?

Be a skeptic! It’s your grade, money, or life at stake.

Think of internet searching like detective work. Look at all the CLUES to get to the FACTS!

Be a CRITICAL THINKER!

RELEVANTEASY TO USECURRENTRELIABLEAUTHOR

What to look for in a website:

Does it answer your question(s)?

1st: look at the description and the URL, then view the website

Is it RELEVANT?

Is the web page user-friendly & easy to navigate and understand? Is it too basic or too complicated?

Hint: Use Ctrl-F to find terms on the page

Is it EASY to use?

CURRENT?Is the information current enough for your purposes?

Not all websites are updated regularly.

How current should the information be?

Is the information CURRENT enough?

Does the author give his/her name?

Does the author provide contact information?

Hint: If not… ? If so, you can “Google” them.Find out who registered the site: paste the

site’s URL in www.whois.net

Is the AUTHOR credible?

Who registered the site? (www.whois.net)

Iegistered the site? (www.whois.net)

Is BIAS good or bad? It depends on the nature of your question/research.

Does the site have a bias or agenda?

Is there BIAS?

Doing some detective work: Who created this site? Is this a credible site?

www.MartinLutherKing.org

www.Hitler.org

Blocked!

Slide Presentation - looking at web sites

Easy Bib Website Evaluation Guide