e Q u e s t.................................................

  || Intro || Goals || LifeOn || Info || Grps || 1on1 || Tests || Modal || WebPg || Freefm || Integ || Jrnl || Sched || Priv || Paper ||

Locating and Evaluating Information

In addition to information you get from hardcopy journals and books, you will need to search the web for information related to your issue. You probably also know how to use search engines to find information online. Two of my favorite engines are Alta Vista and Google. It's good to select one search engine and learn all its features, especially the "advanced" features. Read the information at the search engine site to learn about those advanced features. Mastering those skills will make your searching more powerful and precise. Become an expert at using one particular search engine, but remember that any particular engine only covers about 40% of the internet, so it's important to spend some time using two or more engines. Remember that thinking about and experimenting with different keywords will improve your search as well as enhance your insights into what your topic is about.

Remember that you also can search for hard copy articles online! There are a dozen or more search engines available to you at the Rider web site that scan the databases for all sorts of journals and newspapers. Use the "select an area" button to go to the Libraries section, then click on the "Database" button.

Don't assume that all information you find online is good information. Remember that anyone - recognized experts as well as crackpots - publish on the internet. Learn how to evaluate whether a web site or web article seems accurate and valid. Consider these questions:

1. What is the status, reputation, or credentials of the person or organization presenting the information?

2. How professional, well-organized, well-written is that page of information or that web site?

3. How many and what kinds of other web sites or people are citing that page or site? Find out by searching for the title of that page in a search engine.

4. Do other web sites review and evaluate that page or that site? What do they say about it?

5. Is the information on that page confirmed by other sources? Do other sources disagree with that information?

6. What is your gut level reaction to the information? Does the information match or contradict what you know from your experience?

7. How well does the article meet the criteria for a "scholarly article" according to these criteria described on the Rider University library site.
In your paper, describe exactly how you went about searching for information on the web. What search engines did you use? What keywords worked well or didn't work well? How did experimenting with different keywords give you some insight into your topic?

Citing and rating online references: In the reference section of your paper, for each reference that you got off of the internet, cite the author or organization, the title of the page, the address of the page, and the date you accessed the page. Following the citation, include a rating of that reference on a scale from 1 to 7 using the seven criteria above. A reference gets one point each time you determined that it is a "good" article based on that criteria. Describe the reasons for your giving the article that overall rating. For example, a citation might look like this (if there is no person as an author, an organization or group might be listed as the author):

Smith, J. The online disinhibition effect. www.washintonu.edu, retrieved March 2002.
(Rating = 5. This article was cited by numerous web sites, it is extremely well written and organized, the author is a university professor, the article meets most of the criteria for a scholarly article, and my gut level reaction was that the information was very important)



Exercises: Searching for Sights and Sounds

1. At google, use the image search engine to find three pictures that you like - pictures that have something to do with the issue you are exploring, or ones that say something about you, your personality, your life. Save these pictures and try to use them in your web page.

2. Find three sound or music files that you like - sounds or music that have something to do with your issue, or that say something about you. Save them and see if you can use them in your web page. These files may be in mp3, midi, or wav format. There are entire web sites devoted to mp3, midi, and sound files. See if you can find them.