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Responsible Research. Everything on the internet is true!. State Farm commercial http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_CgPsGY5Mw Cliche - -"Everything on the internet is true!" Couldn't be further from the truth! The truth: Anyone can put anything that they want on the internet
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Everything on the internet is true! • State Farm commercial • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_CgPsGY5Mw • Cliche--"Everything on the internet is true!" • Couldn't be further from the truth! • The truth: • Anyone can put anything that they want on the internet • Can CLAIM anything without necessarily supporting their claim with evidence OR by using false evidence. • Beware!
Websites disguised as news sites • Some websites disguised as news sites • Completely fabricated for entertainment • Nothing on these sites is truth. • Example: The Onion. http://www.theonion.com/ • Very entertaining, but completely made up. • Mrs. Nix recently fell victim to this • A friend posted a story about Michael Jackson's remains being found under that train tracks at Neverland Ranch. • Very believable. http://www.theonion.com/articles/neverland-ranch-investigators-discover-corpse-of-r,1303/ • Posts all over Facebook • Completely made up for entertainment purposes • Well written and convincing • Don't be fooled by these sites
People can claim anything • Professor in the Midwest claims that the Holocaust never happened? • Arthur R. Butz is an associate professor of electrical engineering at Northwestern University, and author of The Hoax of the Twentieth Century, a book denying the Holocaust. • Achieved tenure in 1974 and currently teaches classes in control system theory and digital signal processing. • How can he make those claims? • In argument, the author can CLAIM anything--but can you support it with EVIDENCE? • He cannot, but he has made wild claims in his classes and online • Don't believe him.
Even kids can put something on the internet • When researching a topic, have you ever ended up on a site that you realize was made by a kid for school? • They are only about as reliable as the kid who put it on the internet.
How do you know a site is reliable? • Part of your assurance comes from a name... • Avoid Wikipedia and Ask.com (and yahoo answers) • Reader-edited sites • only double checked for accuracy occasionally.
Where to begin • Stick to .gov or .edu when possible (government websites like cia.gov/worldfactbook are extremely reliable along with many university sites that end in .edu). • .org is more reliable than .com, • Think about what an organization's mission is. • For example, mkgandhi.org is a website run by the family of Mohandas Gandhi, famous civil rights leader who died in the 1940's. Knowing that Gandhi inspired other civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela, do you think that there is a mission involved in the site dedicated to Gandhi? Peacekeeping? Equality? Human Rights? YES. • Is that website useable and reliable? Yes--but be aware of bias.
Perspective • Another example? I'm sure that you read "Sadako and the 1,000 Paper Cranes" in elementary school social studies about the little girl who died of leukemia after Hiroshima was atom-bombed to end WW2. A website dedicated to her is run by the city of Hiroshima. http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/shimin/heiwa/crane.html • Good information? YES. One-sided? YES. You clearly are not going to find information about why president Truman felt it necessary to use the a-bomb on this site. If you were researching the end of WW2, it only tells PART of the story. Just be aware of the website author's perspective and be aware of bias. Bias isn't always negative if you can recognize it in your research and find both perspectives. • Opposing Viewpoints on the Cobb Virtual Library is great for this. It always gives information regarding both perspectives.
What is the purpose of your research? • What assignment were you given? • Are you providing an informative paper or presentation (expository) or are you trying to persuade your audience? • Social studies and science teachers often want you to do BOTH. Be sure that you understand your assignment and research accordingly. If you are required to discuss controversy surrounding your topic, be sure to present both sides of the story in an unbiased, informative manner. If you are then asked to share your opinion at the end, THEN turn to persuasive/argumentative techniques so that you can make a claim supported by evidence. The vast majority of school projects are expository/informative.
How do I know if my info. is any good? • Double Check it with multiple sources. You should not be finding extremely different facts or statistics related to the same topic. Reliable sources will share the same general information. • Use a Website Validity Checker or Website Evaluation Tool like this:http://acoachma.tripod.com/ • Mrs. Pease (Media Specialist) usually seeks out the best website evaluation tools and keeps notes in the Media Ctr. to help you check websites as you research. ASK. She will give you a paper with a list of sites that you can use to check the validity of other sites. We are all here to help you!
Is Wikipedia always bad? • It's good for helping you formulate subtopics or research questions because it is organized well. It is NOT, however, a reliable source. Random readers can edit it and can change information. The site does have editors and fact-checkers, but they can’t keep up with the pace of readers constantly editing. Don’t rely on it for your facts!
Can I google it? • Sure, but realize that companies pay big bucks to appear first in search results. DIG DEEPER!Google is not your answer to a research project. It is actually your last resort—NOT your first step. • First, utilize reliable tools in the Cobb Virtual Library and websites recommended by your teacher. • USE BOOKS! The internet may be fast, but does not always contain your best sources!
How many sources should I have? • This answer varies depending on the project and the teacher, but generally 3-4 sources is the minimum number. The more sources the better. As you find various sources, you verify that your research informationi is correct.
Closing Thoughts • Closing Thoughts: Don't search for long questions. Make a list of key terms, words, and phrases re: your topic. These make for better searches. Brainpop: ”Internet Search” http://www.brainpop.com/english/studyandreadingskills/internetsearch/