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Interactive Skills
for Students
How to Use What You
Find On the Internet
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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Why Learn This Skill?
Do you have a research project or a paper to write? These tips will help improve your Internet research skills.
Discover
 Good search engines for academic research
 Effective ways to evaluate what you find
 Note-taking strategies for Internet research
 How to avoid plagiarism
 Styles for citing your sources

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Learn It!
There are many ways to search for information on the Internet.
 Popular search engines
 Online encyclopedias
 Public or school library Web sites

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Common Search Engines
Examples Google, Bing, Yahoo
Pros Commonly used search engines have vast databases and can return many results. They also allow visual searches.
Cons These sites only search a small portion of public Web content. The large number of results can be overwhelming and difficult to sift through. Many search engines are not designed with students in mind.
Also Try Check out Google Books, Google Scholar, or iSeek.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Online Encyclopedias
Examples Encarta, Encyclopedia Britannica, Wikipedia
Pros These often provide good basic information about a topic.
Cons Some sites require a fee. Sites such as Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, which can sometimes result in inaccuracies or bias.
Also Try Use sites like these as a starting point to get very general information and to discover more sites and links for your research.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Public or School Library
Examples online catalog, access “invisible Web”
Pros Searching the online catalog for books or periodicals is convenient. Some libraries allow you to reserve books as well. Your library Web site may provide access to the “invisible Web,” which is academic, research, or database content on the Internet that is not publicly available for free.
Cons To see if a book is helpful, you need the actual book to review. It could be hard to get to the library to pick up books.
Also Try Some online bookstores have a feature that allows book content to be previewed. If you want to look inside a book that you found at the library, see if it is available through an online bookstore. If it’s the book for you, reserve it online through your library.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Evaluate
Before you use a Web site or page as reference for homework or a project, you need to evaluate what you are reading and whether it is suitable for your purposes.
What type of Web page is it?
Why was the Web page created?
Who hosts or owns the material?
Who is the primary audience?
When was the Web page or content created?

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Take Notes
As you perform research online, how will you take notes on what you find?
 Are you using a notebook or taking notes online?
 Is your work part of a research project, or for your own study and learning?

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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If you are using a notebook to take notes
 Make your own outline. Write down the main topic and supporting details as you discover them.
 Include details on why you think this information is important, or how it relates to what you are learning.
 Keep track of every Web site you visit. List Web addresses in your notes. Be careful to write them down accurately. Be sure to also record the date you visited that Web site.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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If you are using a computer to take notes
 Make your own outline. Write down the main topic and supporting details as you discover them.
 Include details on why you think this information is important, or how it relates to what you are learning.
 If you cut and paste text, make sure you note that. This is important when you want to paraphrase what you learn, or keep the text as a quote or citation.
 Keep track of every Web site you visit. You can copy and paste Web addresses in your notes.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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What Is Plagiarism?
According to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, to plagiarize is to
 steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own.
 use (another's production) without crediting the source.
 commit literary theft.
 present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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How To Avoid Plagiarizing
Use careful research and note-taking strategies to distinguish between your ideas and the ideas of others.
 Never cut-and-paste text from a Web page into your own work without carefully noting where it came from.
 Understand the difference between citing someone’s ideas, paraphrasing those ideas, and developing your own original ideas.
 Do not copy and paste images without the permission of the owner.
 Learn how to properly create a bibliography.
 Visit to learn more. You can also ask your teacher about online tools for tracking or discovering plagiarism.

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Cite Your Work
Citations allow you go be clear about where your research, quotes, and ideas originate. They also allow readers to find the source material.
An effective citation should include:
 the author and/or title of the work
 the name and location of the publishing company or site
 the date the content was published or retrieved from the Internet
 the page numbers or Web address of the material you are referencing

14. Title of online magazine
How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Sample Citations for Internet Sources
The samples below are based on the MLA (Modern Language Association) style for citations. Check with your teacher to be sure you are using the citation style they require.
Online magazine article
Samuelson, Robert J. “For the Young, There’s a Silver Lining in the Housing Bust” Newsweek (May 09, 2011). 10 May 2011 <
Author
Title of article
Title of online magazine
Publication date
Date retrieved by you
Web address or URL

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Sample Citations for Internet Sources
The sample below is based on the MLA (Modern Language Association) style for citations. Check with your teacher to be sure you are using the citation style they require.
Web Page or Site
“Choosing The Right Major.” The University of Florida Admissions Department The University of Florida. 10 May, 2011 <
Name of Web site or page
Title of article
Web owner/publisher
Publication date
Date retrieved by you
Web address or URL

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How To Use What You Find on the Internet
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Remember
 There are many ways to search for information on the Internet.
 Analyze and evaluate what you find on the Internet.
 Use thorough note-taking strategies as you study or create projects.
 Carefully cite your research and sources to help you avoid plagiarism.