1. If a stranger came up to you on the street and started telling you stuff, would you believe every word? No, of course not. The same is true of websites.

3. What are the possible problems with using websites for information?
Anyone can create a website about anything – it’s easy and doesn’t cost a lot to do
What are the possible problems with using websites for information?

4. That’s why you need to EVALUATE the website.
What to look for?
Authority (WHO wrote it?)
Currency (WHEN was it written & updated?)
Accuracy (WHAT is it about? Is it correct)
Usefulness (HOW suitable is it for you?)
Objectivity (WHY was it written?)
Can you come up with an acronym to help you remember these 5 points?
Give out copy of sheet for note taking (could use Cornell notes)
Is the author listed? Are they an expert? Are there contact details – it could be published eg by a Government
Is it fair? What is its pupose? To sell, inform, persuade, . Would coca cola tell you about the downsides? Fact or opinion? Always good to look at 2 sides of an argument.
Would the “ fight for rights for slaves” website have the same information & viewpoint as Slave owners society website?
Currency – how up to date is the site? When was it last update? Does it say? Are the links dead? (can be sign of being old)
Accuracy – spelling, grammar and content need to be error free. Are there references? Check other resources.
Is it useful for you? Can you read the words (can you understand them?) suitable for you, not a uni professor. Are you the right audience?

5. What’s in a name. What website endings do you know
What’s in a name? What website endings do you know? (not the country codes – but they could be clues too)
Some websites can only be used by certain groups of people, these may give clues to the website’s reliability.
.gov
.edu or .ac or .sch
. org
.com
.org is organisation – usually a charity/ not for profit organisation
.com is commercial business
Any other suggestions for reliable sites –BBC/ ABC / SBS / famous museums, The Age, The Australian

6. So how do you find a website that has the information you need?
Did you know there are over 1 billion websites in the world? And the number grows every day…
Nobody wants to look at all of them!
So how do you find a website that has the information you need?

7. Four top tips – Tip 1 Be specific Type in jaguar – what comes up?
Now try jaguar not car.
What about bond – try instead “James Bond” use quotes (talking marks) to keep words together.
Most search engines ignore common words eg the, of etc. Keep your criteria specific and as precise as possible.
Try Hawks – what do you think you will get?
Try it in a google search, then try it using Bing or Safari – any differences?
Try Hawks again to find out about the feathered variety

8. Tip 2 Read the summaries – don’t just click on the first link.
Look for the web address (known as the URL or Uniform resource locator) to see if it is likely to be a good site.

9. Be aware of different language terms in different countries.
Tip 3
Be aware of different language terms in different countries.
Imagine you have been asked to research mobile phones. What are they called in America?
Football in England means soccer, not AFL

10. Tip 4
Spelling matters
This is especially true if you are typing a web address in directly to the address bar (every dot and / matters)
Be extra careful when using homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently)
Do you mean flour or flower?
A dessert or a desert?

11. A good place to start in CESC
A great way to get started when researching is to use an Encyclopaedia, these can be in printed style (books) or online.
Go to:
Follow the link under Encyclopaedia Britannica to INFORMATION ZONE
This is an encyclopaedia which CESC subscribes to. Notice it has different levels so you can find information which is appropriate for your own level of reading.

12. Using the encyclopaedia
You can also change the reading level for more detailed and complex versions
Choose primary level to start
Type in pharaoh (note the links to read aloud the text – try this if you have headphones)
Now follow the links on the page to find out about some famous pharaohs.
Make notes in your book.

13. Planning your research
A research plan is key to finding out what you need and not wasting hours aimlessly surfing the WWW.
1. What is your topic area?
2. What do you know already?
3. What do you think you know already?
4. What do you need to find out? (this should be a set of questions)
5. How will you research? What sources will you use? What keywords?
6. How will you keep details of your sources?