1. Lessons on the best way to use Google and the rest of the Internet Skinner, 2014

2.  It’s a lot more difficult than you’d think.  You CAN’T just type the name of the assignment into the Google search box.

3. Thing is, Wikipedia is only ONE opinion. No matter what the question, you need sources from ALL angles before decided how you interpret it. Truth is subjective! This semester is about helping you learn to decide who to believe.

4.  Imagine I’ve assigned you a question to explore. A question that may even seem like it has a single answer:  What were the major causes of the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979?  Find three sources you think are reliable to use in a presentation on this topic…go!go!

5.  Simply typing in the key words from the question/assignment  Only looking at the first one or two pages of results  Never stopping to try and figure out what’s missing

6. YOU HAVE THE POWER.

7.  SEARCH OPERATORS! SEARCH OPERATORS  Return to the Iranian Hostage Crisis  First ask yourself, what do you think Iranians call this event? (and WHY?)  Next, know how to look:  Web country codes Web country codes  Search operator – site:  But we also need something academic! - ac

8. site:ac.ir conquest of the american spy den

9. “ ”  anything between these quotation marks is a MUST word. In other words, Google will only show results that have that word. ◦ Also, it will search those words in that exact order What if I wanted to search info about Star Wars Episode I?

10. OR  The OR operator applies to the search terms immediately next to it. The first example will find pages that include either “Tahiti” or “Hawaii” or both terms, but not pages that contain neither “Tahiti” nor “Hawaii.” ◦ [ Tahiti OR Hawaii ]Tahiti OR Hawaii  The third example will find pages that contain any one, two, or all three of the terms “blouse,” “shirt,” and “chemise.” ◦ [ blouse OR shirt OR chemise ]blouse OR shirt OR chemise

11.  What if I wanted to search for a vacation to either New Zealand or the Ivory Coast?

12. “New Zealand“ OR “Ivory Coast“ holiday OR vacation package“New Zealand“ OR “Ivory Coast“ holiday OR vacation package

13. * is a placeholder  If you know there’s a date on the page you’re seeking but you don’t know its format, specify several common formats using the OR operator. For example:the OR operator ◦ [ California election “Oct * 2003“ OR “10/*/03“ OR “October * 2003“ ]California election “Oct * 2003“ OR “10/*/03“ OR “October * 2003“  When you know only part of the phrase you wish to find, consider using the * operator. Find the title of Sherry Russell’s book that can help you deal with the tragedies of 9/11 or losing a loved one. ◦ [ “My Beautiful * Fantasy” ]

14. ~term with term or one of its synonyms Why did Google use tilde? In math, the “~” symbol means “is similar to.” The tilde tells Google to search for pages that are synonyms or similar to the term that follows. [ ~inexpensive ] matches “inexpensive,” “cheap,” “affordable,” and “low cost”~inexpensive [ ~run ] matches “run,” “runner’s,” “running,” as well as “marathon”~run

15. –termwithout term So, to search for a twins support group in Minnesota, but not return pages relating to the Minnesota Twins baseball team: USE [ twins support group Minnesota –baseball ]twins support group Minnesota –baseball NOT [ twins support group Minnesota ]twins support group Minnesota

16.  Wikipedia is a great place to start, but it’s NOT a reliable source by itself. ◦ How can you use Wikipedia to help widen your search?  What ARE reliable sites?

17. ppt, pdf, doc… (and.ac)

18. Whenever possible, GO DIRECTLY TO THE SOURCE!!! Don’t just find a quote from a famous person; find the original text in which that person spoke it! Don’t use other people’s research – look at their works cited/bibliography – and go to their sources!

19.  All right. Now it’s your turn. Let’s say you’re ready to start researching different opinions on what “independent thinking” should look like in the classroom.  How would you search this? Experiment, and make notes of which searches you found most useful. Search TermsNotes on Results (good? Bad? Reliable? About what % actually related to what I wanted to read?)

20.  Remember, the internet has SOOOOOOOOOOOO much information. But only a small of it is true, and only a small amount of it is relevant. Turn on your brain, think critically, and explore this limitless world of knowledge wisely and carefully.  Do that, and you can do just about anything.

21. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR HOW TO DO RESEARCH, SITE SOURCES, AND AVOID STEALING OTHERS IDEAS

22. Watch and take notes on my prezi, available at http://prezi.com/5ehl_cdm7lrc/?utm_campaign=share&utm_me dium=copy&rc=ex0share

23. http://prezi.com/zay7mxhvxf1q/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc= ex0share Or use the handout I have given you in class, also available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7e0z6zSb6B4WnVZU1oyZHRRZFU/edit?usp=sh aring