Library Project - Assignment #5

The Library Project http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/library Danielson Library: 1-860-412-7272 Willimantic Library Learning Center: 1-860-412-7285

Part 5: Research on the Internet So many sites, so little time… One of the advantages of doing research on the Web is the volume of information that exists in such an easily accessible format. As a researcher, you’ll want to use the Web to find current news; visit the QVCC Library website; find government information; and to discover both expert and popular opinions. Your challenge is to learn how to distinguish between good and bad information on the Internet. Searching the Internet effectively takes a little skill and know-how. Be a critic. Part 5 of The Library project requires you to search the Internet for a valid, reliable website with information on your crime topic. To do this you may either use a search engine (i.e. Google) or the Library’s Internet Sites by Subject website.

Step 1 – Think about where to look •

The best way to find good information on the Internet is to search inside of a website that is known to have relevance to your topic. Example: If your topic is gang violence, then you might think about going directly to the website of the US Department of Justice.

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Understand Web addresses (URLs) and know your domains.

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Domain

Administrator

.com .edu

Commercial entities Educational institutions

.gov .org .mil .net

Government agencies Non-profit organizations Military Network infrastructure

If you use a search engine, like Google or Yahoo, consider trying the Advanced Search to specify a domain.

Step 2 – Consider the QVCC Library’s Internet Sites by Subject list •

The Library maintains a list of good Internet websites that are useful to students.

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Look for the list under the Research tab and click Internet Sites by Subject.

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Select a Resource that makes sense for your crime topic.

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Visit a few of the websites in your subject.

Step 3 – Evaluating Internet Information

1.

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Anybody can publish on the Web, making it awfully easy to find bogus information.

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Anybody can write or edit a Wikipedia article, which makes it off-limits for most academic research.

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When you use the Internet for academic research you should be looking for objective information, written by a person or organization that is reputable and has some obvious credentials.

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Ask yourself:

Does the page look serious?  What does the appearance of the page tell you? Does it look professional or amateurish?  Is there advertising on the page? What kind of advertising? How does it affect the quality of the information?  Are sources given for facts or statistics?  What kind of tone does the article have? Is it well-written? Are there paragraphs? How’s the grammar and spelling? Are there any typos? Does the text make sense?

2. Who wrote it?  Is there an author?  Does the author offer any credentials? Is the author an expert or an amateur?  Is there a link to information about the author? 3. Who is the sponsor of the site?  Does a particular organization provide the Web site where the article was posted?  Is the sponsor of the site a reputable organization or a special-interest group that has an obvious bias?  Is there a link to information about the sponsoring organization? 4. When was the article written?  Is there a publication date or copyright date or last updated date at the beginning or end of the article?  If there’s no date on the article, is there a date on the site’s home page?  If there’s no date on the article or site home page, can you verify how current the site is from the text of the article? 5.

Why was this information published?  As a public service? To educate the public about something?  As entertainment?  To sell something?  To convince you of something?

 Is the information biased? Is this a bad thing?

The Library Project

Name _________________________________

http://www.qvcc.commnet.edu/library Danielson Library: 1-860-412-7272 Willimantic Library Learning Center: 1-860-412-7285

Due date ______________________________

Assignment for Part 5: Research on the Internet •

Continue with your crime topic.

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Find a reliable, relevant website using either: Internet Sites by Subject or a search engine.

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Find an “article” that’s between 2 and 10 pages long (you can use Print Preview to find page count).

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Assess the article by applying the Evaluating Internet Information checklist.

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Print the article, if the article looks reliable/credible/informative. If the article does not look good or credible, search again until you find one that does.

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Read the article. Highlight or underline important information.

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Answer the questions on a separate piece of paper, typed, double spaced, and in complete sentences. Spelling and grammar count.

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Staple the “article,” the questions, and the answers. Respect the due date. A penalty will occur for each class the assignment is late.

The Questions for Part 5 1.

How did you find your article? Which one of the methods below did you use? (10 points) a.

Did you use a search engine to find your article? If so, write down the name of the search engine you used and the keywords you used to search your topic (i.e. I used Google as a search engine and I searched the keywords “gang warfare” and cities). OR

b.

Did you use the Internet Sites By Subject list to find your article? If you did, write down the path you took: which Subject Resources heading did you click into? What links did you click through or what search did you enter at a particular site.

2.

Summarize in a short paragraph (6-8 sentences) the main points of the article. The summary should demonstrate that the article is about some aspect of your topic. Remember that when you summarize you need to put things in your own words. You can’t “lift” sentences from the article. This is a form of plagiarism. (40 points)

3.

In a short paragraph (8-12 sentences), explain why you believe your article to be reliable/credible/etc. Evaluate your article using the checklist in Step 3 Evaluating Internet Information. This answer should be fairly detailed. Analyze and assess how the checklist applies to your article. a. For example, if your article has an author and the author has credentials (like a PhD or MD or RN or something similar showing that the author is an expert), make a case for the article’s reliability by putting the two together: a credible author could mean a credible article. b. Or, you might defend the article because the site itself has credibility, because it’s a government site or a credible source like the Department of Health and Human Services or the National Adoption Information Clearinghouse.

c.

Or, you might analyze why the article is on the Internet: if you believe that the article is posted as a public service, analyze what this service is all about and then determine if this makes a difference in terms of its reliability/credibility.

This answer is going to require some careful thinking, which is why it is worth so many points. (40 points) 4.

Find a sentence in your article that is particularly important or interesting or distinctive. Using “quotation marks,” type the sentence word for word. Draw an arrow in the margin of your article printout to indicate where your quotation came from. Next, briefly explain in your own words why you selected that particular sentence. (10 points)

5.

Find a sentence in your article that is particularly important or interesting or distinctive. Using “quotation marks,” type the sentence word for word. Draw an arrow in your article printout to indicate where your quotation came from. Next, briefly explain in your own words why you selected that particular sentence. (10 points)