Ms. Gokturk

Internet Research Assignment or "Quiz"

It’s Not Garbage! I Saw it on the Internet!

Well, We’ll See About That…

Today you will be using a website to learn about how to evaluate sites on the Internet. There is a lot of "stuff" out there, and not all of it is good. Please answer the following questions based on the following site. [http://www.sbhsd.k12.ca.us/Homepage/Library/webeval.html].

Most of the questions are on the site as you go along. I have tried to simplify the questions and number them for your viewing pleasure. Please use these questions.) You may type or hand write your responses. Due by the end of the period. (10 points per question)

  1. Imagine this: You are researching a controversial issue like gun control, and you find a crumpled up piece of paper in a street gutter. The paper is handwritten, and it begins, "Ten Facts about Gun Control." You don't know who wrote it, and there is no mention of where the facts come from. Would you use this as part of your research? Why or why not?
  2. Go to http://www.sbhsd.k12.ca.us/Homepage/Library/webeval1.html Look at the web page about gun control. There are lots of good things about this site. The information is current, and the sources are well-documented. Then click on the name of the author. What do you learn about the author? Is this the best source of information on gun control?
  3. Look at the page about Martin Luther King, Jr. What can we find out about Clayborne Carson by hunting around this website? Are his credentials good?
  4. Sometimes there is no official author, but the page is connected to an institution or organization that has a good reputation. Here's an example. [http://www.drugabuse.gov/researchreports/nicotine/nicotine2.html#what] Who is the sponsoring organization?
  5. If you don't know who wrote the page or If you can't verify the author's credentials or the author isn't connected to a reputable institution or organization, What should you do?
  6. Check out the web page about a famous rapper [http://www.snoop-dogg.com/]. What kind of information about him would you NOT find on this page? Why not?
  7. What are domain names? What are the most common? What do they tell you about a page? (.com, .edu, .org, etc.)
  8. What can you do to find out if a page is accurate? *(list the steps)
  9. Look at this page about smoking. [http://unr.edu/homepage/shubinsk/whosmok1.html] What is missing?
  10. Create the proper citation for one of the better sites listed above.
  11. EXTRA CREDIT Find the address to the site that looks like a NASA site that insists that the walk on the moon was fabricated.

**Print the last page of the tutorial for your notes.

The purpose of this lesson was to help you evaluate cites for your research story. Your in-depth (expository) feature should contain at least three sources for information. Two of these may be Internet sites. Happy Searching!

Now go to this site and surf searching strategies. (http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/main.html)

My TOPIC IS: _______________________________________________________

www.google.com is a great place to start. Put your search in quotes for better results.