Liz M_Inquiry Project 1

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HOW THE PUBLIC USES

THE INTERNET FORRESEARCH

Liz Mykytka September 20, 2008



My Ideas

In my research I wanted to:Find out why individuals conduct research.

Find out why individuals chose a particular

website.Discover how individuals decided what made

a quality website.



Predictions

Through surveys, interviews, andobservations I predict that I will find thefollowing information:A majority of people will use google.com for

a search engine. Few people will use internetdirectories.

People will generally assume that if theinformation is laid out easily and appears

correct then they will view the site as aquality site.

Half of the individuals will look to well knownor anizations for valuable information.



Inquiry Plan Description

For my Inquiry plan, which I conducted atthe Public Library, I did the followingthings:

Ask patrons to evaluate a website whilelooking for information on the plants andanimals of Zion National Park. They had achecklist to use.

Patrons were asked to complete a surveybefore and after their website evaluation sothat I was able to more fully understandtheir internet use.



Inquiry Plan Description

After the surveys were completed I didthe following to gain more information: I conducted a conversational interview with

4 of the patrons to further my understandingof their ideas about internet research.

I also asked one patron if I could observehim do the website evaluation and was able

to discuss with him why he progressedthrough his search and the websites in hischosen manner.



What I Discovered



Why I chose google.com

This was the response to several of thepatrons when asked, “Why do you usegoogle.com as your search engine?”

“I like google because it is easy to use.”“I know what words to put in to get the

information that I want when I usegoogle.com.”

“I use google.com because everyone usesgoogle.com.”



What I Discovered



Ideas of a Quality Website

These were among the most popularresponses to the question: What makes aquality website?




Responses of two advanced degreestudents when asked, “What makes agood website?”

“All of the sources are listed and there isaccessible information about the author.”~Jessica Jernigan

“Reliable sources, well-known organizations,

and trusted information.” ~ Katherine Evans




The ideas of these individuals are supportedthe John’s Hopkins University’s pageEvaluating Information on the Internet.“Authorship is perhaps the major criterion

used in evaluating information. . . .Referral toand/or knowledge of the literature refers to thecontext in which the author situates his or herwork. . . . Accuracy or verifiability of details is

an important part of the evaluation process,especially when you are reading the work of an unfamiliar author presented by an

-



The Checklist based off of the work of Kathy Schrock



Checklist Conclusions

At the end of the survey I asked thelibrary patrons if the checklist was useful,and would they use the information in thefuture. These were some of theresponses.“Absolutely, this was very helpful. I will most

defiantly use this again.”“This was a great list of criteria. Can I have a

copy to use at home?”“I probably won’t check off each item on the

list again, but these are great things to keep”



Observation

In addition to my survey and interviews, Ialso conducted a one on one observationwith one individual. He was in the 9th

grade. Together we compared twowebsites. This is what we discovered. Hedid research on the benefits of stem cellresearch.



Observation: A search on his

Using google.com to search, he chose thefirst site to come up:http://www.bootstrike.com/Genetics/StemCells/proandcon.html

Problems with this site according to theindividual: “There are lots of ads and the information is difficult to

read.”

“It is hard to get around.” “Although there is an author listed I don’t know who he

is.”

“Sometimes it is hard to tell where the information



Observation: A search using our

Once again we returned to google.com to doour search. This time we went to:http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/health.asp

We decided that this was a quality websitebecause: It was maintained by the National Institute of

Health.

It had current information.

It does not seemed one sided.

There are links to related sources.

It is easy to navigate.



His Conclusion

The boy I observed and worked with tofind quality websites stated, “It is easierto evaluate the website that I am using

first than getting wrong information andhaving to re-do my whole assignment.”



My Conclusions

“The choice of search engine or searchdirectory is a major factor in howeffective a search may be.” Bertram

Bruce, Searching the Web: New Domainsfor Inquiry

Prior to this project I did not realize howmuch the search engine could play a role

in the quality of the website, and help youfind the information that best relates toyour search.



My Conclusions

After completing this project I have come tothree conclusions: Teachers need to incorporate not only the use of

the internet in their classroom, but also teach

how to evaluate what the students are viewingon the internet.

The more that an individual uses the internet,the better he/she can become at evaluating thequality of the website.

The internet can be a valuable tool when usedappropriately and the right knowledge allows usto use it appropriately.

Liz M_Inquiry Project 1

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