Transcript Finding What You Need (Internet)

FINDING WHAT YOU
WANT ON THE
INTERNET
STEP 1:
DETERMINE WHAT YOU WANT TO FIND
First, in one or two sentences, state what you
want to find on the Internet. For example:
“I want to find information about blood
diamonds”.
STEP 2:
IDENTIFY KEYWORDS
Next, underline the main
concepts in the statement.
Blood diamonds
STEP 3:
SELECT SYNONYMS AND OTHER
WORDS ON TOPIC
Conflict diamonds, Sierra Leone, Africa,
Angola
Step 4:
Place phrases inside quotation
marks so that they will be searched
for as a phrase instead of separate
words
“blood diamonds” OR “conflict diamonds”
STEP 5:
CHECK YOUR SPELLING
*although Google now has a handy tool that asks if
you want alternate (correct) spelling!
STEP 6:
CONSIDER USING A DIRECTORY TO HELP
NARROW YOUR SEARCH
A search engine lets you seek out specific words and
phrases in Web pages. A directory is more like a subject
catalog in the library--a human being has determined the
main point of a Web page and has categorized it based on a
classification scheme of topics and subtopics used by that
directory.
http://www.google.ca/
MAKING
USE OF WHAT
YOU FIND ON
THE INTERNET
The Web is a self-publishing
medium.
ANYONE
can create a website…
Yes…ANYONE!
SO…
ASK YOURSELF THE
FOLLOWING FIVE
QUESTIONS:
WHO?
WHY?
WHEN?
HOW?
WHAT?
WHO is publishing the site?
• Who wrote the page?
• Can you contact him or her?
• Is this person or organization
authentic and qualified?
• Check the domain of the page.
LOOK for clues…
for the source of a web site in the domain name
(in the url or "address")
For example, most often:
.edu = either an educational or affiliated
institution,
.com = commercial enterprise (which may
have a financial reason for promoting a
product or site),
.gov = government agency,and
.org = organization
Homepages of individuals …
http://homepages.tesco.net/~zoechaos/zebra.htm
•Look for a personal name, a tilde ( ~ ), a percent sign ( % ), or
or the words "users," "members," or "people."
•Is the server a commercial ISP* or other provider mostly of
web page hosting (like aol.com or geocities.com)?
SITE INFORMATION
Use www.alexa.com for website information:
Simply paste the address into the search box.
You will see, depending on the volume of traffic to the
page:
• Traffic rank
• Subjective reviews
• "Site statistics" including some page history, sites that
link to the page
• Contact/ownership info for the domain name
• A link to the Internet archive of website history "Wayback
Machine"
Let’s see how credible these websites or images seem:
www.mtsinai.on.ca/
www.rythospital.com/
www.thedogisland.com/
www.snopes.com/
www.mediaawareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teachable_moments/photo_truth.cfm
homepage.mac.com/gapodaca/digital/digital.html
WHY was this page created?
Was it…
•to function as a resource (information)?
•for public relations?
•to promote a cause?
•for a teaching aide?
•to sell a product?
•to show long-distance relatives wedding or baby
pictures? !!
If you know ALL of this, then you can make
intelligent assessments about any potential bias:
http://www.nra.org
•National Rifle Association
http://www.csgv.org/
•Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
http://www.amoryn.com/index.html
•Pharmaceutical Company
WHEN was the site last updated?
• When was it produced?
•When was it updated?
•Are the links working and updated?
HOW easy is the site to use?
Some of the more annoying or cumbersome
features include:
•new browser windows opening unexpectedly
•pop-up ads
•annoying color schemes
•tiny graphics for buttons
•flashing buttons
•use of frames
•dead links
WHAT is the REAL value of this web
site to your research?
• Be clear about what you are looking for before
you begin
•Try not to be distracted and taken off task
• Take notes on what you learned from the site so
that you don’t waste time
CITING INTERNET SOURCES
Author. (Copyright date or date last updated).
Title. <http://address> [date of document
download.]
Use the Citation Machine at:
CHHS Library Website
or
www.citationmachine.net
GOOD LUCK WITH
YOUR RESEARCH!