1. Conducting Credible Internet Research: C.A.R.S.
Presented by the Glendale Union High School District
and the AZ. Dept. of Ed.

2. Using the World Wide Web is like becoming a detective or an investigative journalist. You must learn to check out Web sites for clues that will tell you if the site is a good one, an O.K. one, or a poor one.
Anyone can put a site on the Web, and it is not illegal to put incorrect information on the Web. A sharp detective will know how to examine clues to determine whether or not a site is suitable.

3. What Is a Domain Name? The most common domain names:
.com - commercial organizations (usually trying to sell something)
.org - usually non-profit organizations, but not always
.edu - educational institutions
.gov - government
.net - organizations involved in Internet services
.int - international organizations
A good detective must know where the author is coming from (the author's point of view). Sites are often written for the following purposes: to sell something, to educate, to sound off, or to organize for or support a cause. In the URL of the Web site you'll find a DOMAIN name. These domain names will often help you to decide who is sponsoring the site and where they are coming from.

4. How Do I Determine It’s Reliable? C.A.R.S.
Credible
Accurate
Reasonable
Supported

5. Credible
Goal: A source that is created by a person or organization who knows the subject and who cares about its quality and relevance.
Is there a publishing or sponsoring organization? Is the organization an authority on the subject?
Is the author listed? Is the author an authority on the subject? How do you know?
Are there spelling errors, grammar errors, dead links, or other problems that indicate a lack of quality control?

10. Accurate
Goal: A source with information that is current, complete, and correct
Does the information on the site agree with other sources?
Does the site contradict itself?
What is the date of publication or copyright?
How recently has the site been updated?

11. Reasonable Goal: A source that is truthful and unbiased
Does the author, host, publisher, or sponsor have a bias?
What is the motivation or purpose for creating the site? (To sell a product? To advance a viewpoint or belief? To educate? )

12. Supported Goal: A source with verifiable sources of information
Are the sources listed? Can they be checked?
Is there a way to contact the author or organization?

13. What Is Peer Reviewed
In academic publishing, the goal of peer review is to assess the quality of articles submitted for publication in a scholarly journal. Before an article is deemed appropriate to be published in a peer- reviewed journal, it must undergo the following process:
The author of the article must submit it to the journal editor who forwards the article to experts in the field. Because the reviewers specialize in the same scholarly area as the author, they are considered the author’s peers (hence “peer review”).
These impartial reviewers are charged with carefully evaluating the quality of the submitted manuscript.
The peer reviewers check the manuscript for accuracy and assess the validity of the research methodology and procedures.
If appropriate, they suggest revisions. If they find the article lacking in scholarly validity and rigor, they reject it.

14. Where Should I look for this information?
Ideally, information such as the author, host organization, and publication date will be easily located at either the top or bottom of the page.
Look at the URL. What domain does it use? (i.e. .org, .com, .net, .edu)
Click on contact or about us

15. Unreliable Sources Wikipedia Blogs Tweets Personal Pages
Some sites ending in .com (Answer.com)
Forums
Biased sites
Unreliable sources can be highly interesting and insightful; sometimes they lead to valid information. For the purposes of research, however, be sure to verify their data on a more reliable site.

16. Boolean Searches -- Using Logic to Search Effectively
via What Is A Boolean Search
“Boolean searching is built on a method of symbolic logic developed by George Boole, a 19th century English mathematician.
Boolean searches allow you to combine words and phrases using the words AND, OR, NOT (known as Boolean operators) to limit, broaden, or refine your search” (New York Public Library).
A good researcher should know how to do a Boolean Search.

17. "AND" logic
What Is A Boolean Search

18. "OR" logic
OR : Using OR broadens a search to include results that contain either of the words you're looking for.
What Is A Boolean Search

19. "NOT" logic NOT : Using NOT will narrow a search by exclusion.
(Some search engines, like Google, recognize the minus (-) symbol, instead of the word NOT).
What Is A Boolean Search

20. “keyword” Quotations :
Placing quotations around a specific phrase will help you narrow results in order to find information containing that exact wording.
What Is A Boolean Search

21. Another acronym for validating sources: the CRAAP test
Currency
Relevance
Authority & Accuracy
Purpose

22. Google: Not Just For Finding Music
Boolean Searches
CTRL+F search results
Search specific sites (i.e. .gov teen pregnancy 2015)
Google Public Data Explorer
Diagram Search
Image Search
Scholarly Article Search (scholar.google.com)

23. School Databases
A “Set of data grouped together in one location in (or accessible by) a computer
Like an electronic filing cabinet
Arranged for easy access or a specific purpose
High schools offer access to various databases and state databases
Found on school’s Media or Library page

24. AZ State Library AVAILABLE TO EVERY STUDENT IN ARIZONA
Resources for Learners
Can be searched by subject
Opposing Viewpoints site is particularly useful

25. Other Resources Purdue OWL’s notes on Primary Research
The school library
Pew Research Center

26. The Personal Interview
One type of research you may want to engage in is the personal interview. We will be looking at this more closely in a classroom assignment, but for now, list some people who might prove helpful, insightful, and knowledgeable:
Persons in the community affected by the issue
Persons in government positions that deal with the issue
Artists/writers who have created works that center on the issue
Instructors or professors in disciplines related to the issue ?

27. Paper Requirements 12-15 pages (not including a works cited)
MLA format
CRAAPS test for at least 15 sources
Research notes (in a format we talked about in class)
Annotated bibliography for at least 10 sources
Need to include at least 8 sources in final draft
Peer Edits (Done in class on 5/16)