Web Addresses
True or False: If a website ends in .edu, .org, or .gov it is absolutely reliable
False
Why do we want to examine who the author of the website or article is?
We want to know if the author is truly qualified to write about the topic.
Why do I want to know the date an article was published?
To see if the information in the article is current enough for your research
What is one thing I would want to know about a website when I am considering reliability? (More than one answer are correct.)
Are they trying to sell me anything? Are they trying to persuade me to believe something? Are they biased or are they attempting to be balanced in their presentation of the facts?
The first few websites listed when I search using Google
What is- they might be paid advertisements?
Sites using this domain name are schools ranging from kindergarten to higher education.
What is .edu
True or False, if there is no author listed, you should absolutely not use that article.
False, it could still be good reliable information. Just keep looking.
If there is no article date is given, what would you look for?
Date the website was last updated or copyright date of the website
You are researching whether eggs are a healthy part of the diet. Would you have any reservations about using this website? http://www.incredibleegg.org
Yes. The name of the site is Incredible Egg. This makes me think the organization wants me to think eggs are incredible.
True or False, You can set the timeframe of when an article was published (such as 1 day ago, one week ago, within the past year).
True
You do this by clicking Tools and Any Time to select the drop down menu.
Companies (for-profit) businesses have websites ending in this.
What is .com
This article has no author! Would you consider it to be reliable? Why? https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
Yes. The information is provided to us by NASA, on the official government agency's webpage. It could be written by a group of scientists.
This article has no date of publication. Could you use it? http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/cell-phones-and-cancer/faq-20057798
Probably. The Mayo Clinic is a reputable source, but you can look further.
True or False: You can USUALLY trust educational or government websites.
True
By typing in a : colon
such as Lyme Disease:edu or tornados:gov
If you come across a site ending in this, then you are viewing a federal government site.
What is .gov
Would you consider this article to be reliable or not? Why?http://www.atlanteanconspiracy.com/2015/02/space-travel-hoax.html
Not reliable. Look at words in the web address as clues. Conspiracy, Travel Hoax implies that this website is trying to persuade the reader.
You are researching new computer displays and find this article. Would you use it? https://web.archive.org/web/19990210055035/http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/16644.html
No. It is dated 1998. That is 21 years ago and computers have evolved since then.
You are doing research on tornadoes and find this article. https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/tornado/ Looking at the website, would you consider this to be a reliable article?
Yes. Scholastic is a news magazine that is meant for education. They publish articles for teachers to use with students.
Name three search engines
Google, FireFox, Safari, Mozilla, Yahoo, Bing
Organizations such as the American Red Cross or PBS, traditionally a non-profit organization, end in this.
What is .org
Look at the author of this article. Do you consider this article to be reliable? https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/smoke-screen-are-e-cigarettes-safe/
It could be reliable because this is a credible magazine, but the article was written in 2014. That is 5 years old and more studies on eCigarettes are being conducted.
When doing research on Alzheimer's Disease, you find this article. Would you use it?https://web.archive.org/web/20000510083934/http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1728.55322
No. It is written in 2000. That is 19 years ago and new medical discoveries have taken place since then. (Look at the web address. It says web.archive.)
You are researching whether a paleo diet is healthy. What would you want to keep in mind about this website? http://robbwolf.com/2016/03/07/testimonial-how-a-paleo-diet-helps-me-thrive-with-osteoarthritis/
He is trying to sell his book and diet program. It might be good information, but he might also be trying to persuade the reader into believing in this diet program.
Name one database/online service that is used at Deep River Elementary School for researching school projects
PebbleGo, PebbleGo Next, Scholastic TrueFlix, BookFlix