Effective Online Research

How do we know that websites are providing accurate information? How do we know that websites are up-to-date with the most current information? How do we know that websites are providing unbiased information?

Accu rate* Info rmation Use the websites that Ms. Sun provided you. These websites are published with the purpose of providing truthful, educational information that strive to be as precise and error-free as possible. Stay away from Wikipedia, ask.com, public forums, blogs, and other websites in which ANYONE can post information. If the person is not an expert* on the topic, their information cannot be trusted. Even if they claim to be an expert, unless they are on a private, trusted website, their information cannot be used. Lastly, find specific information! Do not use vague statements or estimates, such as “a lot,” “hundereds,” “many,” etc. Find exact numbers, statistics, and facts to back up your claims which, in turn, increases the awe factor (hundreds of thousands versus 885,385).

Up-to-Date Information Things change. Information that was accurate ten y ears ago , five y ears ago, five minutes ago, may not be ac curate anymore. So make sure you g et the most recent information you can access by checking websites that are constantly updated, such as news, magazine, and organization w ebsit es. Unbiased* Info rmation When r esearching for your report, make sure you search for facts, not opinions. For information to be stro ng, it must be proven through statist ics or evidence of exp erim entat ion. If yo u present biased information, your information will not be reliable. For example, “Th e U.S. consumes thousands of barrels of oil a day” may sound like a fact, but without actual numbers, it is difficult to know if it is really a fact. On the other hand, “The U.S. consu mes 20,680 thousand barrels p er day, according to the Energy Information Administration,” shows that the stat ement is not random or simply an op inion.

*E ff ec tiv e (syn): successful, helpful, useful, valuable, efficient *Acc ura te (syn): correct, true, exact, precise *U nbias ed (syn): neutral, unprejudiced, fair, equal, impartial *Exper t (def): a person with a great deal of knowledge, skill, training, or experience in a particular field.

When searching on Google o r any othe r search engine, use specific, accurate phrase s and words.

Do NOT type in yo ur entire search que stion! Instead search for key words: - Paper bags env iron men t - Plastic bags environme nt

Or better yet, search fo r key phrases: - pros paper bags - paper bags better?

- cons plastic bags - paper v ersus plastic

If you know specifically what yo u are looking for, try Google’ s ADVANC ED SEAR CH. It lets you searc h for mul tiple key words, exact wording or phrases, and lets you get rid of unwanted words.