Transcript of Evaluating Search Results Fundamentals of Research Capital Community College Spring Semester 2013.
- Slide 1
- Evaluating Search Results Fundamentals of Research Capital
Community College Spring Semester 2013
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- When searching for information, look for the following:
Accuracy- is the information correct? Authority- who is behind the
information? Coverage- is the information in-depth? Does it contain
facts and citations? Currency- is the information up to date?
Objectivity- is the information biased?
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- www.who/what.where A websites address (or URL) and Internet
domain can tell you a lot about its authority and credibility, so
thats a good place to begin.
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- .edu These websites are from institutions of higher education,
like colleges and universities.
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- .edu Faculty and students can publish personal web pages
through their institutional domain. Though.edu sites are not
automatically credible but they are often very reliable.
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- .gov These websites come from the U.S. government or state
governments and are highly regulated.
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- .gov These sites include: statistical reports departmental and
agency resources legislative and legal documents information about
state and local governments
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- .org Organizational websites are advocacy web sites, such as a
not-for-profit organization. They are not strictly regulated.
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- .org They can represent any kind of social, environmental,
religious, medical, charitable, political, or educational
group.
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- .com Commercial sites offer information, products, and services
to purchase.
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- .com This domain is one of the largest on the Web and can
include search engines, such as Google, and newspaper companies
like the New York Times. www.google.com www.nytimes.com
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- Lets search information on Martin Luther King Jr.
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- Since we want to find the exact name Martin Luther King Jr., we
can put those words in quotation marks. This shortcut works for any
commonly used phrase, name, or title.
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- Remember- all your search results will include the keywords you
typed and, therefore, they may all seem important.
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- Before you select a site, take a closer look at the URL to see
where the information is coming from and what type of material you
can expect to find there. thekingcenter.org or wikipedia.org?
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- The first site in the results is the site that is visited the
most. It does not mean that its the most reliable.
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- Here, the site listed is Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia
that anyone can edit or contribute to.
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- Things to consider about Wikipedia Wikipedia can be a great
place to get a general overview There are often links to other
credible resources. Wikipedia can be edited or changed several
times a day. This does not make the site very reliable. There is no
author or editor listed in Wikipedia articles. So, information from
Wikipedia has to be verified by another reliable source to ensure
the information is both objective and credible.
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- This site claims to contain historical and academic information
about Dr. Martin Luther King. www.martinlutherking.org
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- There is NO author listed or any information about the
sponsoring organization, so we will have to explore the site for
other clues as to who is behind the information on this site.
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- This article contains NO author or date, and has incomplete
citations. Uh oh! There is also a TYPO on the page which indicates
inaccurate content.
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- Lets try to find additional publication information at the
bottom of the main page.
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- Based on the content and apparent authority,
martinlutherking.org is an example of an organizational website
which is a misleading authority and is NOT reliable or credible.
What does WHITE PRIDE mean? Who is DAVID DUKE ?
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- Lets look at an example of an educational site. Based on the
URL, we can tell that this one is associated with Stanford
University.
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- First, look for an author or authors listed on the main
page.
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- This site has both contact information as well as a staff
directory so we can see who is behind the information. In addition
to the fact this site is based at Stanford University, we now have
information about the authority and credentials of the people who
contribute to the site.
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- You can often find additional publication and copyright
information at the bottom of the home or main page of the website.
Weve checked the websites authority. Now lets look for dates to
indicate the currency.
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- This site contains both primary and secondary information. Why
is this important? Now that weve verified the authority and
currency, lets explore the content. There are links to recordings
of Kings speeches, autobiography, and writings as well as secondary
scholarship written by staff of the research institute.
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- HOORAY! Based on the academic authority, the currency, the
scope of the information, and the overall contents of the site, we
can tell this is a reliable and credible resource. WELL DONE!