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I Found It on the Internet Teaching Students to Locate, Evaluate, and Cite Credible Online Sources: 

I Found It on the Internet Teaching Students to Locate, Evaluate, and Cite Credible Online Sources Dennis G. Jerz Monday, Jan. 28, 2002 www.uwec.edu/jerzdg

Illustration: The Internet: 

Procrastinating Student The Internet at 4am Illustration: The Internet Michelangelo’s 'The Creation of Adam', Sistine Chapel http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/art/m/michelan/3sistina/1genesis/6adam/06_3ce6a.jpg

It Came from the Internet!: 

It Came from the Internet! SEE! Factual errors and commercial plugs… Garish colors and blinking text… Anonymous, undated, biased claims… HEAR! Cheesy background music… An infinite number of monkeys at their keyboards… WATCH! The destruction of objectivity, reflection, and independent thought. WRITHE! As all that is true and accurate falls before all that is searchable and downloadable. Adapted from It Came from Outer Space , Universal Pictures Some instructors feel this way instead…

(Overview)Teaching students to…: 

(Overview) Teaching students to… Locate Evaluate Cite Credible Online Sources

What is an online source?: 

What is an online source? www.time.com ? www.amazon.com -- online chapter of a McIntyre book? A Personal Website …with a long passage pasted from a news story? …with an original, eyewitness account of a recent event? A government document found at the Library of Congress website? An academic article accessed via the McIntyre Library website?

Locating Online Sources: 

Locating Online Sources www.google.com www.uwec.edu/Library/researchmap.html www.uwec.edu/Library/resources.html Encyclopedia Britannica Oxford English Dictionary www.uwec.edu/Library/Guides/subject.html www.uwec.edu/Library/coremore www.firstmonday.org www.gamestudies.org

Evaluating Online Sources: 

Evaluating Online Sources www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/research/ www.uwec.edu/Library/Guides/tencs.html

Citing Online Sources: 

Citing Online Sources www.uwec.edu/Library/Guides/citation.html www.mla.org MLA BibBuilder www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/research/bib/ APA Style www.apastyle.org/elecref.html 'Direct readers as closely as possible to the information being cited; whenever possible, reference specific documents rather than home or menu pages.' 'Provide addresses that work.'

Problems Finding URLs?: 

Problems Finding URLs? www.usatoday.com www.leadertelegram.com/local_news1.htm www.mla.org www.mla.org/www_mla_org/style/style_main.asp?level=2andamp;mode=pageandamp;page=1andamp;link=sty72800121438andamp;section=sty51800124510 www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/research/framedURLs.htm Always keep printouts. Real researchers want their work to be easily cited. If you can’t find the URL, find a better source. As a last resort, attach the printout and cite it.

Why Bother to Cite?: 

Why Bother to Cite? It’s arcane, meaningless busywork designed to keep me from getting the 'A' my tuition paid for. To prove that I found the magic number of sources the assignment called for. To prove that I haven’t plagiarized. So my instructor can read my sources and check whether I applied them correctly. To model the methods of academic inquiry.

Academic Inquiry (for newbies): 

Academic Inquiry (for newbies) Seeking 'Truth' by comparing the merits of differing professional opinions Building upon existing, trusted scholarship Not trying to 'win' a battle or make friends. 'I am right.' Or, 'My wonderful professor is right.' Anyone who thinks otherwise is stupid, superstitious, racist, sexist, a terrorist, unfeeling, etc. Complex, rather than simplistic theses. 'Slavery was bad.' vs. 'Alex Haley’s plagiarism and historical inaccuracies in Roots damaged the integrity of the civil rights movement.'

Credible Sources: 

Credible Sources Author andamp; Date of Publication? Hacking the URL www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/ORR/handouts/TW/web/url-hacking.htm Context www.despair.com/demotivators/frownonthis.html http://www.theonion.com/onion3211/acludefends.html www.bigredhair.com/boilerplate/ Design

Design and Credibility: 

Design and Credibility  Professional Design  Little or No Design  Flashy, 'Cool' Design  Amateur Design Background sounds andamp; images Garish colors andamp; multicolored text Poor or nonexistent navigation Large text

Credibility and Human Nature: 

Credibility and Human Nature Paradox of the Active User The belief that you will save time by ignoring the instructions. Asking for directions vs. driving when lost Foraging Behavior Survival instinct: conserve resources Electrons: path of least resistance

Research & the Napster Generation : 

Research andamp; the Napster Generation Researchers rarely give their best stuff away for free on the Internet. Researchers save some of their best stuff for books. Books and printed articles are, in most fields, more valuable to the individual researcher’s career. The Napster generation wants it for free. The Napster generation wants it for free, NOW. Too bad librarians don’t work at 4am.

Is Microsoft a Monopoly?: 

Is Microsoft a Monopoly? The Department of Justice vs. Microsoft The Department of Justice vs. a software monopoly The Department of Justice vs. the freedom to innovate

Search for “monopoly” on www.microsoft.com: 

Search for 'monopoly' on www.microsoft.com

Online Journalism: 

Online Journalism Foraging behavior brings students to online journalism websites. News andamp; magazine articles are easier to read than academic papers. But the news reports are not experts in the subject matter (child psychology, international politics, etc.). It’s worse than that! (Opportunity for a critical thinking exercise.)

Jupiter Communications: 

Jupiter Communications (Now Jupiter Media Metrix) Sells research. Custom research – designed to make the customer look good. I start my own church tonight. I sign up my wife and son tomorrow. My membership shot up to 300%! Jupiter’s fun with statistics: www.uwec.edu/jerzdg/orr/articles/TW/jup-crit.htm

Surge in Salon Subscribers: 

Surge in Salon Subscribers http://news.com.com/2110-1023-820941.html www.salon.com/press/releases/2002/01/23/subscribers/ http://www.salon.com/press/fact/index.html www.dotcomscoop.com/article.php?sid=156andamp;mode=threadandamp;order=0

Credible Online Sources: 

Credible Online Sources Be critical of info on a .com website. Be critical of info on a .edu website Does the URL include a course number? Rules for giving conference talks andamp; posting classroom lecture notes aren’t very stringent; can be inaccurate. Be critical of info on a .org website. Activist organizations try to get you to think of an issue in terms that exclude alternative viewpoints: Is smoking a matter of public health, or personal freedom? Is a tax cut a 'welcome return to sensible government' or a 'compassionless strike against the disadvantaged masses'? NOW, NRA, PETA, and the ACLU are not ethically bound to present any point of view but their own. Be critical of all information – online or not.

The Horror! The Horror!: 

The Horror! The Horror! Students may be thinking… 'How am I supposed to know whether every article I read online is biased? I’m not an expert! I have no idea how to confirm every fact!' But the answer is… Find articles in peer-reviewed journals! You know that two or three experts have approved of the article before publishing it!