1. SEARCH, EVALUATE,CITE
How to Research Anything
. . . Plus CRAP Detection
Benton Library Media Center
Created by Melissa Corey
Monday, October 11, 2010
3. RESEARCH IS SIMPLE . . . RIGHT?
SEARCH
EVALUATE
CITE
Images: “MacBook light shift” by goobimama via Flickr, CC-licensed
“Goed Zoekveld” by Bart van Biezen via Flickr, CC-licensed
“Closeup of an opened dictionary” by zehfernando via Flickr, CC-licensed
Monday, October 11, 2010
4. SEARCH OPTIONS
WORLD HISTORY
A database focused exclusively on
history and social studies
SWEETSEARCH
Like Google, but better. Pre-
screened, accurate links.
POWERSEARCH
Search all of the library’s
databases . . . at once.
Monday, October 11, 2010
5. NOT SURE WHAT TO SEARCH?
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/nashhistory
Monday, October 11, 2010
6. EVALUATE THE C.R.A.P.
CURRENCY
RELIABILITY
AUTHORITY
PURPOSE
Images: “TP” by bathroomdiva via Flickr under a CC-license.
Monday, October 11, 2010
7. CURRENCY
Is the information up-to-date?
Does the website
present new information?
Can you tell when the
information was published?
Images: “#1 New MacBook” by Mikael Miettinen via Flickr under a CC-license.
“2009-07-09 What Day Is It?” by RG of CS-taking a bit of a break via Flickr under a CC-license.
Monday, October 11, 2010
8. RELIABILITY
Is the information verifiable elsewhere?
Is the information
backed by sources?
Is the information
relevant to your topic?
Images: “IT everywhere #31” by Paul the Wine Guy via Flickr under a CC-license.
“Smack in the middle” by ogimogi via Flickr under a CC-license.
Monday, October 11, 2010
9. AUTHORITY
Is the website backed by experts?
Can you determine the
authors of the website?
Is there an organization
backing the website?
Image: “Man vs. Power” by theqspeaks via Flickr under a CC-license.
Monday, October 11, 2010
10. PURPOSE
Is the website commerical
or non-commercial?
Is there a clear bias
for a single viewpoint?
Is the information presented
objectively (when needed)?
Image: “dot com” by Thomas Hawk via Flickr under a CC-license.
“Load or unload” by Pulpolux !!! via Flickr under a CC-license.
Monday, October 11, 2010
11. TRY IT YOURSELF
Do a Google search and evaluate the CRAP
CURRENCY
RELIABILITY
AUTHORITY
PURPOSE
Monday, October 11, 2010
