Online Research!!! How do we find reliable information on

the internet? We can’t do all of our research at the school library!

1. Brisco, 2006

Search Engines Let’s start off with a real life example

rather than a school research topic. Let’s say your father or grandfather has a blocked artery in his heart and you want to see if there is an option other than surgery that could help unblock it.

You could use a variety of search engines such as: Dogpile, Metacrawler, Allonesearch, Yahoo, Ask Jeeves, MSN and Vivisimo. 1

But let’s face it – most of us are going to use Google!

So lets talk about that. If you search “natural

cures for blocked arteries” Google brings up the following websites:

www.ArteryHealthInstitute.com      www.YourTicker.com/Angioprim      www.CardioRestore.com yukitee.blogspot.com/2008/06/natural-

remedy-for-blocked-arteries.html

So how do we know which

ones are reliable?First, question the

sources! Ask yourself why the page was put

on the web. Was it to: Inform us, give us facts, give data? Explain something? Persuade someone? Sell something or entice someone?

Identifying objective and subjective information

If the text was put on the web to inform us, give us facts, data, or explain something to us it is likely that it is reliable, or objective.

If on the other hand, a text was put on the web to persuade us, sell us something or entice us it probably isn’t a reliable source.

Why? Because texts that persuade, sell or entice are usually only giving information to promote their cause or item – in other words, subjective information.

Let’s go back to our examples

Upon first look, it seems that the web address from our first hit www.ArteryHealthInstitute.com, a health institute, would be a reliable source.

However, once you click the link you quickly see that the site is selling something and obviously trying to persuade you by using words like MIRACLE and citations only supporting their stance. This is a definite red flag!

But what about: www.YourTicker.com/

Angioprim www.CardioRestore.com yukitee.blogspot.com/

2008/06/natural-remedy-for-blocked-arteries.html

Well, let’s look at some tips for how to find reliable sources.

2. Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask, 2008

Tips for knowing which sources to use

First, a quick way to identify reliable sources is to look for ones that end in subject appropriate endings:

Government sites end in .gov or .mil

Educational sites end in .edu

Nonprofit organizations end in .org 2

3. Gough, 2008 4. Evaluating web pages, 2008 5. Gough, 2008

Next: Identify the author & their area of

expertise – the author can be an individual or an organization 3

Also, find the date written and / or date that the page was updated 4

Generally, a source that fails to identify an author, area of expertise or updated information is unreliable 5

6. Evaluating web pages: Techniques to apply & questions to ask, 2008

Other ways to identify reliable sources:

Check to see where your sources are getting their information…

Do they use footnotes or links identifying other works they have drawn on for their research?

Are there links to other resources on the topic?

Do the links work? 6

Now that you know how to identify reliable sources lets dig a little deeper!

For instance, something on a previous websites caught my eye… EDTA or ethylenediamine tetra-acetic acid

Is there another way I can search the web to find objective information about EDTA?

How do I find out if EDTA is something that

really works? How do I know if there is any validity to

what the sales articles are saying about it? One thing I could do is search EDTA for

blocked arteries and see if anything more objective comes up.

But now that I have a lead there is another, way to search and see if anything valid comes up.

Which brings us to another option…

Google Scholar Ever heard of this? Just “Google it,” click the Google scholar link, and type your

search. A search for – “EDTA for blocked arteries” results in scholarly

articles written on this topic by academics. All you have to do is skim some articles to see what others

say about EDTA.

The End! The Google Scholar search brings up

sources with authors, references and dates that are written from an objective view. These are the kinds of sources you want.

But that doesn’t mean that a regular search won’t bring up reliable sources, it means you have to look for the things previously mentioned and see if the web sources are good or not. Happy hunting