5. Wikipedia Woes and Google Gaffs
What are the pros and
cons of so much
information being
online?
What do you do to be
sure you’re finding
credible resources?
How do you evaluate
the information you
find while
researching?
Why is it important to
support your argument
with valid sources?
Google Analytics (2012) Google analytics in
real life – Site search.
http://youtu.be/cbtf1oyNg-8
DuckDuckGo (2012). There are no “regular
results” on Google anymore.
http://vimeo.com/duckduckgo/bubble
6. Web “Pre-Searching”
Why start your search online?
Find background information
Help solidify research topic
Find new terminology to use as keywords
Find links and/or citations to other sources
7. Through out the lesson:
Fill out this spreadsheet
http://bit.ly/1946u1w
Enter your name and research topic
8. Improve Google
internet and bully
Advanced Google
searching
Duck Duck Go
body image and girls
Cook Library’s
Guide to the Web
10. Keywords are critical!
Sample topic:
Which age is childhood obesity in the
United States the highest?
First, break the question down into
concepts:
Which age is childhood obesity in the
United States the highest?
11. More on keywords…
Expand your list to include synonyms then add to it
once you have done some background reading.
Which age is childhood obesity in the United States the
highest?
childhood obesity United States
adolescent over weight USA
child* obese North America
young BMI
12. Search Tip #1
Boolean “search connectors”
AND OR NOT
For example:
internet AND children
Combining >1 topic
instruct OR teach
Combining synonymous terms
13. Search Tip #2
Use truncation!
Educat* finds
Educate
Education
Educating
Educator
Etc…
14. Search Tip #3
Phrase Searching…
Use quotations to keep a keyword phrase
intact (words will be searched in the
specific order)
Examples:
“No Child Left Behind”
“school reform”
15. Putting it all together…
Which age is childhood obesity in the United States
the highest?
childhood
child*
adolescent
young
obesity
over weight
BMI
United States
USA
North America
child* OR adolescent OR young
AND
obesity OR overweight OR BMI
AND
United States OR USA OR North America
17. Evaluate what you find
Go to one of the websites below and
analyze it
http://bit.ly/cosmicweb3
http://bit.ly/cosmicweb4
http://bit.ly/cosmicweb5
http://bit.ly/cosmicweb6
http://bit.ly/cosmicweb7
19. Check for CRAP
Currency
How recent is the
information?
Can you locate a
date when the
resource was
written/created/upda
ted?
Based on your topic,
is this current
enough?
Why might the date
matter for your topic?
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/helloeveryone123/393737
4193/sizes/m/in/photostream/
20. Check for CRAP
Reliability
What kind of
information is
included in the
resource?
Does the author
provide citations &
references for
quotations & data
Where am I
accessing this
information?
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/schnappi/5930145952/sizes/l/in/photostrea
m/
21. Check for CRAP
Authority
Can you determine who
the author/creator is?
What are their
credentials (education,
affiliation, experience,
etc.)?
Who is the publisher or
sponsor of the work/site?
Is this publisher/sponsor
reputable
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://rantchick.com/a-doctrine-on-respect/
22. Check for CRAP
Purpose/Point of
View
Is the content
primarily opinion?
Is the information
balanced or
biased?
What is the purpose
of the information? Is
it to inform, teach,
sell, entertain or
persuade
Guidelines for CRAP provided by the Jean and Alexander Heard
Library
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cogdog/5484085301/sizes
/m/in/photostream/
23. Analyze your Website
Enter your CRAP analysis on the online
worksheet
You need 3 scholarly web resources for
your paper. Take this time to try to find at
least one website you can use!
24. Thanks for listening!
Next class:
Watch 2 more video and prepare for
discussion
Use your keywords to find books/articles
25. Questions?
Feel free to contact me:
Laksamee Putnam
lputnam@towson.edu
410.704.3746.
Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
Or any reference librarian:
Visit Cook Library Reference Desk
410.704.2462.
IM – tucookchat
