1. A SPEAKER’S GUIDEBOOK 4TH EDITION CHAPTER 10
Using the Internet for Information Gathering

2. Conducting Internet Research
The internet has made it possible for a researcher to locate sources which previously would have been geographically inaccessible or would have taken a long time to receive.
Begin your internet research using your campus library portal rather than a popular search engine.
Research found from a library database is more likely to be credible than from an independent website.

3. Types of Internet Information Sources
World Wide Web
Web discussion forums
Blogs
Listservs
Newsgroups
Real-time communication
FTP, gopher, & telnet connections

4. Virtual Libraries www.vlib.org www.lii.org/search www.ipl.org
Your campus library probably has a virtual address as well.

5. Be a Critical Consumer
Search engines cannot determine the credibility or quality of the information. You must do this.
When you read information on the internet, spend a few minutes thinking about how your audience will receive this source.

6. Evaluating Web Sources
Determine the authorship and sponsorship of the website. What is the domain, or suffix at the end of the web address?
Check for accuracy; when was the web page created or last updated?
Is the website, or the quoted references contained on it, credible, reputable, or independent sources?

7. Unethical Information Distinctions
Information is data set in a context for relevance which becomes knowledge and generally considered a fact.
Other types of data are not ethical:
Propaganda
Misinformation
Disinformation

8. Propaganda May be based on false information
May be based in fact, but facts are used in a way to provoke a certain response in the audience

9. Misinformation Refers to something that is not true
Internet sources often contain stories, or urban legends, that are fabricated and passed along by people believing these stories to be true.

10. Disinformation Is the deliberate falsification of information
Companies, or other organizations with personal interest in an issue or cause, may be likely to post disinformation on the internet.
Some examples are: falsified profit-loss statements or an altered photograph.

11. Types of Search Engines
Search engines index the contents of the Web and make it easier for the user to find information.
Individual search engines, such as Google and Yahoo!, compile their own databases.
Meta-search engines, such as Metacrawler and Dogpile, scan many individual search engines simultaneously pulling the top, and usually paid listings, from each.
Specialized search engines, or vortals, conduct searches in a particular field. Examples of SSE are GoogleScholar, FindArticles, and 24HourScholar.

12. Subject Directories
Are searchable databases of websites organized by categories and topics.
Are created and maintained by people, not automatic crawlers like search engines.
Help the researcher narrow down the topic and find more relevant sources.
Some examples are Open Directory Project at Yahoo! Directory, or Academic Info at

13. Basic Search Commands Use quotation marks to find exact phrases.
Use boolean operators, words placed between your key words, such as: and, or, and not, to filter out unwanted items.
Use plus or minus signs in front of your keywords to include or exclude terms from your search.
Field searching, or an advanced search, narrows results by finding closer matches.

14. Search Using Google

15. Question
If you want to find internet sources on large cats; such as lions and tigers, which boolean operator would yield the best result?
A. “large cats”
B. large cats not house cats
C. cats – domestic
D. cats
E. lions or tigers

16. Documenting Internet Sources
Be sure to include all relevant information about your internet source in your bibliographic citation in the format required by your instructor:
Name of author, editor, or sponsoring organization
Publication information of print version
Date of posting or last revision
Title of document or home page
Title of complete work on which the page is based
Other relevant information, such as the page number
Retrieval date statement
URL address

17. Chapter 10 Key Terms for Review
library portal
virtual library
World Wide Web
invisible Web
domain
tilde (~)
information
propaganda
misinformation
disinformation
search engine
individual search engine
meta-search engine
specialized search engine
subject (Web) directory
paid placement
paid inclusion
field searching