Be Web Wise
It's hard to know what information on the Internet is true and what's not...
Here are a few tips and ideas you should keep in mind when researching on the World Wide Web!!
Sensible Searching
Search Engines have a language of their own, and web site creators know exactly how to word their site so that it shows up in almost any search. This is why you need to know how to search correctly. These next few tips will help you fine tune your searches so you don't get all that junk!
- Try using 6-8 keywords, instead of the normal 1-2
- Combine the words into phrases using quotations when possible. EX:"pepperoni pizza".
This makes the search engine only find sites where those words are directly beside each other.
- Use only nouns, avoid words like a, it, he, from...
- Carefully spell, and consider different spellings. EX: in Canada we spell it "colour",
but in the U.S. they spell it "color". SO type: colour OR color.
Jewel or Junk
How can you tell whether the information you find on the web is a jewel or just a piece of junk, and whether you should include it in your report?
There are some questions you should ask yourself before adding internet information to your work...
- Who is the author or source of the site? Has someone taken responsibility for the information that
is provided?
- Are you getting factual information or could it be biased? Are there links to alternate views on the
same subject?
- Is the site recent or outdated? When was it created?
- Break down the web address to find out where exactly you are... EX: http://southwest.ednet.ns.ca/TC/schools.html If broken down http:// means it's a hypertext site, the domain name is "southwest.ednet.ns.ca" which is the school board site, and /TC/schools.html, is a pathway of directories.
- Have you already been to the Library, or Library Website? Why are you using the World Wide Web for your research?
- If you still can't tell whether the site is jewel or a piece of junk, don't use the information!
