Using
legitimate resources
Researching on the Internet differs from researching in a library in that
the there are no publishing companies to act as middle-men in order to make sure
information is accurate and correct. Anyone can post an Internet site full of
false or biased information and list it with a search engine. So before you use
information from a website, ask these questions about the site:
| Who posted this site? |
| For what purpose did the person post this site? |
| Where did the information on this site come from? |
| Can I be sure the information on this site is accurate? |
| Does the web address have an .edu, .org, or .gov URL? |
| Is there contact information about the website author? |
If you are in question about whether a site is legitimate, ask your teacher before including it in your paper.
Crediting Internet sources
Researching on the Internet is like researching in a library in that you are still responsible for crediting the source for any information you use. Make sure you write down the following things from any site from which you get information:
| The site's URL, which stands for Uniform Resource Locator. This is the address of the site at the top of your screen. The URL for this site, for instance, is http://www.tmch.issaquah.wednet.edu/Helgeson%20Page.htm |
| The date you visited the site. This is important because addresses for Internet sites may change, or the information you find there may change. |
| The title of the site. |
| The author of the written material you use from the site. |
For information on how to reference a site, see Lane Helgeson.