Internet Research Guide Research project for school got you a little overwhelmed? The tips and tricks on this handout will get you on your way to finding great information!
Test out Those Websites One quick search on Google will show you that there are tons and tons of websites out there on any topic imaginable. But somewebsites aren’t as good as others. Anyone can put a website out on the internet so you’ve got to dig a little deeper to decide whether what you’re seeing on the computer screen is correct information. The checklist below gives you sometips to decide whether you should use a website for your research project or not.
Author (Who wrote the website?)
Is the author’s name listed anywhere on the website? Is there an “about” section? What is the domain? (.com=people and companies trying to make money .org=organizations like World Wildlife Fund or Red Cross.edu=educational sites like schools and colleges.gov=sites about our government)
Accuracy (How correct is the information on the website?)
Is there a list of sourcesused to gather the information? Are there links to other information on the topic? Do these links work?
Objectiveness (Is the information on the website fact or is it someone’s opinion?)
Are multiple perspectives (opinions) of an issue/topic represented? Doesthe information include the words “think”, “believe”, or other keywords that might indicate this is opinion and not fact? Are there ads the page related to the information?
Currency (How up to date is the information on the website?)
Is there a “date last updated” listed? If so, is it within the last 6 months? Do all (or most) of the links on the site work (or do you get a “page not found” error)?