1. Searching the Internet
Unit 10: Research Strategies Workshop

2. Use Key Words and Search Limiters
Use quotation marks:
A search for “young inventors” will give you results with both terms, in that order, right next to each other
Combine Terms:
Some search engines will allow you to use AND or a plus sign to combine terms.
Example: “young inventors” AND toys
Exclude Terms:
Some search engines will let you exclude terms from your results by using NOT or a minus sign
Example: “inventions by young people”- computers

3. You Type In… You Get… This Is… Young inventors 1,090,000 results
far too many results.
“young inventor” competition
104 results
much better, but some results may still be unrelated to your topic
“young inventor”+ toys+ competition
10 results
best, because the results are closest to your topic

4. Evaluate Search Engine Results
Don’t just click on the first result.
Focus first on the web address.
Sites with .com or .net are usually personal sites
Sites with .org or .gov are usually government or nonprofit
Read the descriptions the search engine provides.
Read the page.

5. Exploring a Web Site Credits Sponsor
who produced the site
when the site was created
when it was last updated
Sponsor
Organization, agency, or individual that owns the site and controls its content
Knowing about the credits and sponsors can help you evaluate a site for accuracy and reliability!

6. Unit 10: Research Strategies Workshop
Evaluating Sources
Unit 10: Research Strategies Workshop

7. Evaluating Sources
Sources vary widely in purpose, authorship, and the care with which they are created.
Always carefully evaluate the sources you use to see if they are reliable, or trustworthy.
Evaluating means…
asking and answering questions about the reliability of every book, magazine, newspaper, Web site, and other source you use.

8. Questions to Ask… What is the publication date? Who is the author?
Who published the source?
What is the author’s or publisher’s point of view?
Is the information useful to me?

9. Evaluate Web Sites
To evaluate a Web site, ask and answer these questions:
Who created the site? Is the author an expert? What does the site tell you about the author?
Why was the site created? Consider if the creators want to sell you something- either a product or an idea.
Are there problems with the site? Watch out for mistakes in facts, grammar, or spelling.
Are there credits? Look for a bibliography, the name of the sponsor, and a “last updated” reference.
Could you consult a more reliable source and find coverage of the same topic?

10. Evaluating Websites Remember to look at the URL Example:
.org and .gov are usually more trustworthy than .com or .net
Example:

11. Evaluate a Nonfiction Book
Once you find a book with information on your topic, ask and answer these questions:
What is the copyright date? Look for the most recent date on the copyright page. If you see many dates, that is a good sign; the book has been updated!
Is the book carefully researched? Look for a bibliography, footnotes, end notes to see where the author found his or her info. Also, check the appendix.
Who is the author? Look for an author biography to find learn more about his or her education, profession, and other publications.

12. Evaluate Newspaper and Periodicals
Newspapers and periodicals are great resources for recent information! Ask yourself these questions:
Is this magazine or newspaper well-known and well-respected?
When was it published?
Who is the author?
Can you verify the facts?