SEARCHING FOR TRUTH Defining Student Research Skills Bonnie McCormick, Librarian Ronny Crownover Middle School Denton ISD

Google Filter Bubble Eli Pariser Former Executive Director of MoveOn (and now the board president), a co-founder of Avaaz.org Hits on Google are tailored to your personal searching history You do not always get all the news, all the views, all the information

Must know how to use a variety of research tools Must be discriminate searchers – Website Evaluation What does this mean to YOU?

Printed hard materials Books, journals, magazines, newspapers Databases Ebsco, Britannica, Gale, First Search, ProQuest, ERIC E-books Internet RESOURCE OPTIONS

Reliable information Links to Internet Multi-media available Citations provided Databases

Great place to start Links to the entire Internet Not a good source to cite – just a place to get ideas and launch a good search Wikipedia

RESEARCH on Wikipedia From Wikipedia: Article Quality in Wikipedia “Keep in mind that an encyclopedia is intended to be a starting point for serious research, not an endpoint.”

Get R.E.A.L. Alan November International leader in educational technology Website Evaluation

GET “R.E.A.L.” Website Evaluation in 4 easy steps

Not all websites are created equal…

So, before you use a website, R.E.A.L. You need to get

R ead the URL… Look for the owning entity (person, company, or organization) in the website address (URL). Look for the owning entity (person, company, or organization) in the website address (URL). Are they an authority on the subject Are they an authority on the subject Are they trying to sell you something? Are they trying to sell you something? Might they be biased? Might they be biased? Identify the domain :.gov,.com,.mil,.edu,.org,.net Identify the domain :.gov,.com,.mil,.edu,.org,.net Are you on a personal page? Are you on a personal page? Note: an ~ before a name in the URL means that you are on a personal webpage

E xamine the content… Does the site clearly tell where they got their information? Is the site current and updated? Is the site current and updated? (look for a date, often at the bottom of the webpage) (look for a date, often at the bottom of the webpage) Are the facts different from any other source? Are the facts different from any other source?

A sk about the author or owner… Who wrote it? Is there a “contact us” or “about us” link Does the author have any credentials? Are there spelling or grammar errors?

L ook at the links… Are additional links and resources provided? Are additional links and resources provided? Do the links work? Do the links work? Click on the links to other websites. Click on the links to other websites. Are the links credible? Are the links credible?

L ook at the links… Click on the links to other websites. Click on the links to other websites. Are the links credible? Are the links credible? FORWARD LINKS FORWARD LINKS What are the URL’s of the forward links? What are the URL’s of the forward links? Do the domains change? Do the domains change? Is the information biased? Is the information biased?

L ook at the links… BACK LINKS BACK LINKS Who is linked to this website? Who is linked to this website? Why are they linked? Why are they linked? What do other sites say about the information on the site? What do other sites say about the information on the site? Wayback Machine – see the history of a website Wayback Machine – see the history of a website Wayback Machine Wayback Machine

B e a smart and responsible researcher… R.E.A.L.

WORKS CITED November, Alan. Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press Ohlone College Library. “Evaluating Websites or How Emma” and “Len” Quickly Selected the Best Web Sites and Had Enough Time Left Over to Go For Coffee Before Class.” 23 Nov Online video clip. YouTube. Accessed on 6 Sept Students, Microsoft® Clip Organizer Microsoft Corporation Redmond, Washington. Brandt, Sherry. Get R.E.A.L. adaptation. Argyle: Harpool Middle School Library Pariser, Eli. "TED Talk." The Filter Bubble TED Talk Comments. Eli Pariser, n.d. Web. 25 Jan