How to find reliable

 You will be required to use two internet sources, and no more, for the five required sources in your paper.  Due Friday—a works cited page with two internet sources listed that you want to use for your paper. Also, attach the printouts of information that you plan to use from the sites.

Web vs. print  Web anyone with web access can publish author/affiliations and qualifications may be unclear may not clearly identify external information may be biased/misleading publication info may not be listed

Web vs. Print  Print extensive publication process clearly indicates author/affiliations clearly marks outside sources/quotations bias exists, but is reviewed only qualified manuscripts accepted for publication publication info clearly listed

How to Evaluate Sources  Be skeptical--availability on the Internet does not guarantee reliability. Anyone can post information on the net. Follow these steps to help check the credibility of your sources:

Authority  Does the document have a title?  Who are the authors?  What type of site is providing the information?  Does the site end in.org,.edu, or.gov? These are generally considered reliable sources.

Recency  When was the data last updated? A date should be listed. Is it recent? Or is not date listed at all?  Does the info appear to be the most recent or current on the subject?

Accuracy  Does the source adequately define terms for the average reader?  Is background information provided?

Context  Does the document provide references or links to other info that might clarify its content?  Can fact be distinguished from opinion?  Are sources accurate and within context?  Is the document simply a personal opinion or can it be supported with fact?

Conducting a Search  Consider: keywords that apply what kinds of information you need multiple angles keep notes

Using Search Terms  Do multiple searches  Try keyword variations e.g. try “dining hall,” “cafeteria,” and “campus food service”  Be specific as you learn more e.g. change “dining hall” to “Midwest university dining hall”  Boolean Operators: words added to a search to make it more specific

Defining a Search: Boolean Operators  AND finds pages with all of the search terms used e.g. “dining hall” AND “student workers”  OR finds pages with at least one of the search terms e.g. “dining hall” OR “cafeteria” OR “campus food service”  NOT excludes pages that include the second term e.g. Henry VII NOT Shakespeare

Defining a Search: Quotation Marks  Return pages with exact matches enter dining hall ○ Get: “As I was dining, I heard a noise coming from the hall” enter “dining hall” ○ Get: “Dining hall food quality is assessed in this paper.”

Evaluating Search Results  Domain name extensions anyone can register.com,.net,.org domain names not a great way to tell whether a source is “credible”.edu and.gov can only be used by educational institutions and governmental institutions ○ still not necessarily reliable

Wikipedia Articles  Often one of the first results listed  “Web versus Print” slides apply here  We will not use as one of our two Internet sources  Can be useful for: getting an overview generating new ideas pointing to other sources

How to Cite Sources from the Internet  Cite what is available; however, if a lot of the required information is not available for your site that may be a red flag for you concerning the credibility of your source. Examples : Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access. The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, Web. 23 Apr Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov Web. 10 May 2006.