1. Research and the Internet
Rationale: Welcome to “Research and the Internet.” This presentation is designed to introduce your students to methods for effectively searching the World Wide Web and evaluating the content of web pages. The twenty-four slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of search and evaluation strategies. This presentation is ideal for the beginning of a research unit in a composition course or an Internet research assignment.
This presentation may be supplemented with OWL handouts, including “Searching the World Wide Web” ( “Conducting a Productive Web Search” ( and “Evaluating Sources of Information” (
Directions: Each slide is activated by a single mouse click, unless otherwise noted in bold at the bottom of each notes page.
Writer and Designer: Jennifer Liethen Kunka
Contributors: Muriel Harris, Karen Bishop, Bryan Kopp, Matthew Mooney, David Neyhart, and Andrew Kunka
Developed with resources courtesy of the Purdue University Writing Lab
Grant funding courtesy of the Multimedia Instructional Development Center at Purdue University
© Copyright Purdue University, 2000.
Junior English
Ms. Gersten
PPT by Guidorizzi

2. Research and the Internet
Internet can be useful tool for research
However, finding and using quality web materials can be challenging
Virtually any person can publish almost anything on Internet
Unlike most print sources, web sources do not have to be professionally accepted and edited to be published
This guy could easily be the “credible” author
Rationale: With the development of the Internet, students have found that conducting research is much easier and more convenient than searching through library stacks. While the Internet can be a great tool for research, locating quality materials can at times be a challenge. The following slides will offer tips on how to make the most of your Internet search.
Activity: To generate discussion, the facilitator may ask students about their level of familiarity with the Internet. Also, the facilitator may ask students about the types of web sites they visit, as well as if they have their own personal web pages.

3. How to research using the Internet:
Determine the type of webpage:
Informative pages
Personal web pages
Political/interest group pages
Marketing-oriented or “infomercial” pages
Entertainment pages
Which kind of page is probably the most reliable?
Key Concepts: There are several different types of web pages on the Internet. Students researching the web tend to think that the majority of web pages are devoted to providing information. Generally, informative sites--pages that offer information for the public good without any type of overt political or sales agenda--are few and far between.
Personal web pages tend to be devoted to an individual’s interests, hobbies, family, friends, or ideological beliefs. While researching, students may find personal web pages being used as a sounding board for a political agenda. Though some sites contain well-researched and reliable information, others do not.
Political or interest group pages generally promote some type of cause or way of thinking. These sites will educate web surfers about their topics, but they may contain slanted or biased information. Their goal is to offer information in the hopes of changing a belief, gaining a vote, or earning a political contribution.
Students have the hardest time distinguishing between pages that provide information and pages that try to sell a product. For example, a web site that informs about the benefits of aromatherapy may also sell aromatherapy products. While some “infomercial” sites clearly are promoting a product, the business agenda of other sites can be more difficult to assess.
Finally, the Internet contains many entertainment-oriented web sites. These sites can range from movie news and games to cartoons and comic book sites. Still other pages are “joke” pages--pages that look like they contain serious information, but really contain elaborately fabricated content. If readers are not careful researchers, they may mistake these “joke” pages for reliable information.
Click the mouse for each type of web site.

4. Identify the Homepage Things to look for on homepage:
Author
Credentials and contact information
Sponsorship of page
Copyright or last updated date
References
When possible, locate homepage
You can often do this by eliminating info from end of URL:
.org; .gov; com; .net; .edu; .us; .au; .uk

5. Find the author Locating name of site’s creator may be challenging
Credentials may be missing even if author’s name is provided
Key Concepts: After you identify the type of web site you are viewing, you must next assess it for credibility. Information in the web site depends in large part upon the author; unfortunately, the author’s name may not be clearly listed on the web site. If the author’s name is listed, credentials may not be provided. Furthermore, because web sites do not need to be fact checked to be published, we cannot necessarily rely upon the publisher to be honest.

6. Find the author Who is author of site?
What else comes up when you type author’s name into a search engine?
Does author provide any credentials or contact information?
Does author seem credible?
Key Concepts: Again, asking yourself a list of questions is the best way to determine the credibility of the web site. Is the author listed? Credentials? If you can find the author’s name, try typing it into a search engine to see what else pops up. Is the author affiliated with a political group or a business? If so, try typing the name of the group into a search engine to see what else pops up.

7. Discover Any Associations
Many websites are sponsored by other organizations
Are there any businesses associated with site?
Is there a university associated with site?
Who sponsors site?

8. Assess date of Information
Does site clearly state date of creation or a date for most recent update?
More importantly, does information cover recent changes or advances in field or topic?
Key Concepts: Some sites will state at the bottom of the home page statements such as “Date of Creation: 6/1/99” or “Updated 7/7/99.” If dates are clearly stated in this way, you should be able to rely upon them.
However, rely upon your context clues. Does the information provided cover recent changes or advances in your topic? If not, the information is probably outdated.
Example: For example, if your topic is cloning and you located a web site that discusses cloning as if it had not taken place yet, you would know that the information was published before Dolly, Gene, and other famous cloning experiments were successfully completed.

9. Determine Depth & Scope of Information
Does the material show signs of research, such as:
References to other sources, hyperlinks, footnotes, or a reference page?
Does the author consider opposing points of view?
How closely does the site really match the information you are searching?
Key Concepts: This slide again offers a list of questions that students should ask when they review web sites for their depth and scope of information. Also, students need to allow themselves enough time to research their work. Encourage them not to just use information from the first five web sites they locate--they should find the five best web sites on their topics.
Activity: The facilitator may ask students why the consideration of opposing points of view is important in a well-researched web site. The presence of opposing viewpoints suggest that the author has carefully considered multiple viewpoints about an issue and has come to an educated conclusion about the issue.

10. Determine Depth & Scope of Information
Are there a lot of flashy pictures, colors, animated images, and logos designed to attract attention? Do these eye-catching images distract you from noticing a lack of credible information? Do they disguise an attempt to get you to buy something?
Key Concepts: This slide highlights the visual impact of a web site, demonstrating how easy it is to become distracted from the content by the visual appeal. All of the fireworks graphics on this page will flash briefly and disappear.

11. Determine Depth & Scope of Information
Different from print sources:
Web pages often present information for easy read and visual appeal
Information may not provide sufficient depth or scope
Material may be affected by marketing/political bias
Sometimes web sources may not be the right sources for what you need
Key Concepts: Web researchers need to determine the depth and scope of information provided on web pages. Remember, looking at the Internet on a computer monitor is very similar in some ways to watching a giant television: web pages are generally designed to be visual appealing for quick and easy digestion by the viewer. Consequently, information may not be presented as thoroughly as it might be in a book or journal article. Also, the material included on web pages may be dramatically altered to fit the marketing or political agendas of the publishers.
Finally, the facilitator may want to stress that web sources are not always the best sources of information. Students sometimes tend to have an overreliance on the Internet, thinking that all information is out there somewhere in cyberspace. The best research students can do is to combine web sources with other print sources, including books, magazines, and academic journals, as well as interviews and questionnaires.

12. REMEMBER! Web pages—use at your own risk! Library Databases
Provide all Works Cited information
Are reliable sources
Web pages—use at your own risk!
MUST determine if it is a reliable source
Find all Works Cited information

13. Homework Choose a controversial topic that you would like to research
Choose a position on that topic
Find three reliable articles that support your position
One article must be from a database
Type a Works Cited (DUE Friday, 11/01)