1. Created by Calvin Battles & Stephanie Davis

3.  Exercise 1: Google the phrase “Save the Rennents”.  Go to first web address (http://savetherennets.com/)  Explore webpage; click on links provided.

4.  Once you have explored the website answer the following questions  What is a rennent?  What are they used for?  Have you ever seen or read about the cheese making process?  Does this website look real?  Did you click on the link “About Us” on the bottom of the page? If not do so now.  Is the information on this website accurate?

5.  I had you do that exercise to show you that not everything on the internet is accurate or credible.  How do you distinguish between websites with accurate information and websites that do not?  There are five criteria you should use when you evaluate how useful a website is for your research purposes.

7.  Who is the author/publisher of the page? (Information is usually found on the “About Us” page)  Author/publisher should be expert in the subject. Most experts have an advanced degree in their field.  Do you want to use an archeology website created by an electrician? Electricians are not experts on archeology so information provided by them would be useless.

8.  What is the websites URL?(.com,.net,.edu,.gov,.org)  These URL’s fall into three categories 1)Very useful-.edu &.gov. In order to receive one of these URLs you have to be an institute of higher learning (.edu) or a government entity (.gov). A good example of this is CIA factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/). On this website information about every country in the world is available and accurate.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world- factbook/ 2)Most times useful-.org. Was initially created for non profit use only but has since changed. If using a.org website make sure it meets all other criteria. 3)Rarely useful-.com,.net. No restriction on who can purchase these URLs. Sometimes information can be accurate; sometimes it is not (remember “Save the Rennets”). Be very wary of any information obtained on.com &.net webpages. Only use websites with these URL’s as a last resort.

9.  Is the author objective and unbiased?  Is the author trying to persuade you to his/her side of the argument?  Does the author give all information?  Good research presents all information without trying to influence the readers opinion.  Good research presents all information and lets reader make draw own conclusions on the information available.  Do you get both sides to the story?

10.  Is all information available without having to download, or pay fees.  If site wants you to download; that site is more than likely trying to infect your computer with a virus.  Is information presented in a professional way.  Does website look professional. If not the information is probably not accurate.  If there are popups when viewing the page it is a good sign that information on site is not accurate.

11.  When was the last time the website was updated?  In order to get the latest information websites need to be updated regularly.  Recommendation: Do not use a website that hasn’t been updated in last three months.  If the views, facts, or opinions change rapidly for your research topic, typically science and technology, then don’t use a webpage that hasn’t been updated within the last month.

12.  Wikipedia: what is it? According to website Wikipedia is “the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”  What’s the problem? If “anyone can edit it” then how are you sure information is accurate?  When should I use it?  Background information  Primary sources

13.  Primary Source-Primary sources are original materials. They are from the time period involved and have not been filtered through interpretation or evaluation. Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based. They are usually the first formal appearance of results in physical, print or electronic format. They present original thinking, report a discovery, or share new information.

14.  Examples of Primary Sources  Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study);  Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)  Diaries;  Internet communications on email, listservs;  Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);  Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;  Letters;  Newspaper articles written at the time;  Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript);  Patents;  Photographs  Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia;  Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government document);  Speeches;  Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);  Video recordings (e.g. television programs);  Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings, novels, poems).  Web site.

15.  Secondary sources-less easily defined than primary sources. Generally, they are accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. They are interpretations and evaluations of primary sources. Secondary sources are not evidence, but rather commentary on and discussion of evidence. However, what some define as a secondary source, others define as a tertiary source. Context is everything.

16.  Examples of Secondary Sources  Biographical works;  Commentaries, criticisms;  Dictionaries, Encyclopedias (also considered tertiary);  Histories;  Journal articles (depending on the disciple can be primary);  Magazine and newspaper articles (this distinction varies by discipline);  Monographs, other than fiction and autobiography;  Textbooks (also considered tertiary);  Web site (also considered primary).

17.  Example: I write a travelogue about places to visit in Michigan (primary source). CNN writes feature story about my travelogue (secondary source).  If possible always use primary source over secondary source.

18.  What type of source is Wikipedia? If you answered secondary; you are correct.  For most information primary source of information is available through Wikipedia.  They are found at the bottom of the page in the References section and correspond with superscript (1) in the text.

19.  Choose topic. Pele will be used as an example. Below is his Wikipedia page.

20.  Pick a fact that has the superscript number after the period, and hover your mouse over it and the primary source will appear like below.

21.  With Pele example his actual birth certificate is reproduced to prove his birth information.  In this example, Wikipedia is the secondary source and Pele’s birth certificate is the primary source.  You have now found the primary source from Wikipedia.

22.  Definition- a comprehensive collection of related data organized for convenient access, generally in a computer.data  Why use them?  All information available in academic databases is credible. Therefore, if you use a database then you don’t have to worry about 5 criteria that you learned earlier.

23.  Great database for beginners.  Accessible through JDL library website (http://myjdl.com/research/). You will need a JDL library card in order to access.http://myjdl.com/research/  Also available through Michigan Electronic Library (http://mel.org/Databases) which doesn’t require card if you are at any library.http://mel.org/Databases  Information is organized by topic; i.e. Business and Economics, Energy and Environmentalism, and Health and Medicine.  A variety of types of sources are available including, magazine articles, journal articles, statistics, videos, images, and opinion pieces.  Sources are not overly academic.  It is also easily searchable.

24.  More advanced database.  Harder to search.  Information is more academic in nature.  Also available through JDL website (http://myjdl.com/research/)and MEL website(http://mel.org/Databases).http://mel.org/Databases  Mostly journal articles from academic journals.

25.  Enter Academic OneFile through JDL or MEL webpage.

26.  Search global warming. You should get a very large number of results (6700+).  That is a much too large a number for anyone to go through.  This large of number means you need to find a more specific topic such as climate change.  Results need to be limited.

27.  One way to limit results is to click on the “only peer reviewed” button along left of page. This limits results to only journal articles which have been reviewed by a panel of experts. When this is done the result is still much to large(4500+)  Another way to limit results is to click on different search term on left underneath “related subjects”. If your change your topic to climate change you have gone from 4500 results to 500.  The last way to limit results or find new search terms is to use the “Topic Finder” on the left underneath “Analyze”.

28.  Each portion of the wheel can be clicked to find articles on that area. For example if you wanted to write a paper about the effect of energy policy on climate change than you could click on the climate change area in the red section and you now get 14 results which is much more manageable.