RADCABYour Vehicle for Information Evaluation

RADCAB

Most of us don’t like to waste time. In order to be efficient “info-tectives” we need to begin our information search with focus questions and search terms that relate to our information problem.

Using specific keywords and phrases that relate to our research questions helps us focus our search energies and keep us on task.

By keeping our focus questions and search terms at the front of our brains, we are less apt to fall into that time-wasting black hole of irrelevant information.

Relevancy

Is the information relevant to the question at hand? Am I on the right track?◦Form broad and narrow focus questions◦Brainstorm keywords◦Advanced search

Phrase search ("") Search within a specific website (site:) Terms you want to exclude (-) Fill in the blanks (*) Search exactly as is (+) The OR operator

Relevancy

Phrase search ("")◦By putting double quotes around a set of words,

you are telling Google to consider the exact words in that exact order without any change.

◦Google already uses the order and the fact that the words are together as a very strong signal and will stray from it only for a good reason, so quotes are usually unnecessary.

◦By insisting on phrase search you might be missing good results accidentally. For example, a search for [ "Alexander Bell" ] (with

quotes) will miss the pages that refer to Alexander G. Bell.

Relevancy

Search within a specific website (site:)◦ Google allows you to specify that your search results

must come from a given website. For example, the query [ iraq site:nytimes.com ] will

return pages about Iraq but only from nytimes.com.◦ The simpler queries [ iraq nytimes.com ] or [ iraq

New York Times ] will usually be just as good, though they might return results from other sites that mention the New York Times.

◦ You can also specify a whole class of sites, for example [ iraq site:.gov ] will return results only from a .gov domain and [ iraq site:.iq ] will return results only from Iraqi sites.

Relevancy

Terms you want to exclude (-)◦ Attaching a minus sign immediately before a word indicates

that you do not want pages that contain this word to appear in your results.

◦ The minus sign should appear immediately before the word and should be preceded with a space.

For example, in the query [ anti-virus software ], the minus sign is used as a hyphen and will not be interpreted as an exclusion symbol; whereas the query [ anti-virus -software ] will search for the words 'anti-virus' but exclude references to software.

◦ You can exclude as many words as you want by using the - sign in front of all of them, for example [ jaguar -cars -football -os ].

◦ The - sign can be used to exclude more than just words. For example, place a hyphen before the 'site:' operator (without a

space) to exclude a specific site from your search results.

Relevancy

Fill in the blanks (*)◦ The *, or wildcard, is a little-known feature that

can be very powerful.◦ If you include * within a query, it tells Google to

try to treat the star as a placeholder for any unknown term(s) and then find the best matches. For example, the search [ Google * ] will give you

results about many of Google's products.◦ The query [ Obama voted * on the * bill ] will give

you stories about different votes on different bills.◦Note that the * operator works only on whole

words, not parts of words.

Relevancy

Search exactly as is (+)◦ Google employs synonyms automatically, so that it

finds pages that mention, for example, childcare for the query [ child care ] (with a space), or California history for the query [ ca history ].

◦ But sometimes Google helps out a little too much and gives you a synonym when you don't really want it.

◦ By attaching a + immediately before a word (remember, don't add a space after the +), you are telling Google to match that word precisely as you typed it.

◦ Putting double quotes around a single word will do the same thing.

Relevancy

The OR operator◦ Google's default behavior is to consider all the words

in a search.◦ If you want to specifically allow either one of several

words, you can use the OR operator (note that you have to type 'OR' in ALL CAPS). For example, [ San Francisco Giants 2004 OR 2005 ] will

give you results about either one of these years, whereas [ San Francisco Giants 2004 2005 ] (without the OR) will show pages that include both years on the same page.

◦ The symbol | can be substituted for OR. (The AND operator, by the way, is the default, so it is not needed.)

Relevancy

Who doesn't like something new? New cars, new clothes, new experiences.

New or current information is desirable too. Current information is often what our research questions demand. But sometimes older information sources may contribute as much if not more value to research as newer information sources.

The quality of our research is related to how carefully we analyze the currency of our information sources.

Knowing when the information source was last published or updated helps us determine the usefulness of the information presented.

Currency

Questions to Ask Clues to Look ForIs the page dated? • Date on page (often at bottom

of page, news articles may have the date at the top of the article)

If so, when was the last update? • Is the date when the material was first written, first placed on the Web, or the date of when it was last revised?

How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

• Click on links to pages inside and outside of the site. Do they work?

Currency

So who really cares if the information you found on the Internet isn't totally true? Um…how about your teacher?…or your employer?…or how about you when you need personal, life-important information regarding your health, your finances, and your life-style choices?

Authoritative information sources have everything to do with how accurate and credible the information presented is. You need to care who is behind the information you are using, not only as a matter of personal integrity, but also as a matter of personal safety.

What are the author's qualifications? Is the author associated with a particular school, university, organization, company, or governmental agency? Is his or her email address included on the website?

Take the time to find out who is behind the information!

Authority

Authoritative information sources have everything to do with the accuracy and credibility of the information.

You need to care who is behind the information you are using, not only as a matter of personal integrity, but also as a matter of personal safety.

Authority

Questions to Ask Clues to Look ForIs there an author? Is the page signed?

• A header or footer stating authorship or an email/postal address

Is the author qualified and/or reputable? An expert?

• The author’s credentials• Information you find about the author through other searches or databases

Who is the publisher/sponsor? • Publication/sponsorship statement• An “about” link

Is the publisher/sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?

• A link with information about the author or the publisher/sponsor

If the page includes neither a signature nor a publisher/sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?

• An “about” link• The URL• The domain and country codes

Authority

gTLD Entity Notes.com commercial This is an open TLD; any person or entity is

permitted to register..edu educational The .edu TLD is limited to accredited postsecondary

institutions (nearly all 2 and 4-year colleges and universities in the U.S. and increasingly overseas, e.g., Australia and China).

.gov governmental The .gov TLD is limited to governmental entities and agencies in the United States.

.int international organizations

The .int TLD is strictly limited to organizations, offices, and programs which are endorsed by a treaty between two or more nations.

.mil U.S. military The .mil TLD is limited to use by the U.S. military.

.net network This is an open TLD; any person or entity is permitted to register.

.org organization This is an open TLD; any person or entity is permitted to register.

Generic Top-Level Domains