The InternetThe InternetThe InternetThe Internet

How to decide which website How to decide which website will be useful for your projectwill be useful for your project

• The Internet is a good place to find out information

• But, sometimes it can provide too much information.

• This can make it difficult to decide which websites will give you the information that you need

Who checks that the information on the Internet is factual?

• No-one! – there are no editors • Anyone can make up a website

and put information of the Internet• You –the reader – have to decide

for yourself which articles are factual and useful for your research.

• Wikipedia is an example of an Internet site where information can be changed and added to by anyone who visits the website.

• It is one of the most popular encyclopaedias on the Internet, and although it contains lots of reliable information, it can contain some wrong information

• You NEED TO BE AWARE that some of the information has to be double checked with other sources, as wrong or misleading information can easily be added to an article.

• Start your research by typing your subject topic into Google (search engine)

• Google will usually provide a long list of websites

• Before choosing a website, look at the web address (URL) and try and decide which ones will have reliable information

• Look for:– gov – for government sites– edu – for education sites– org – for non profit organizations

Examples of website address (URL)

Topic - ‘Healthy Eating’ - Google lists 7,880,000 results!

Look carefully at the website address (URL)

www.eatwell.gov.uk ‘gov’ means it’s a government site and will therefore be more likely to give unbiased information.

www.Tescodiets.com ‘com’ means company and this site will therefore give useful information, but will also have a bias towards encouraging people to eat Tesco products.

Once you have chosen a site,

try to identify its source

• Who has written the information?– Look for the name of the author or

organization who is responsible for the site.

• When was it written? – Is the information up-to-date?

Why was the page put on the Internet?

What are the intentions of the author?

- Inform – give facts– Sell something – persuade– Share views – discussion &

debate

Is it a useful website?

• Is the information relevant to the topic?

• Are there links to other sources on the topic?

• Is the information biased in any way?

• Once you’ve found a reliable & useful site, remember and take a note of the web address, or save it in your ‘Favourites’, so that you can easily access it again.

• Good luck with your research!

Waid Academy Library. 2009.