Writer’s Notebook

Do you think the internet should be regulated more heavily, to eliminate sites that provide unreliable or dangerous content? Why or Why Not?

Responses Should Be 4-5 sentences in length!

THE INTERNET

Obligatory Introduction

Created in the early 90’s, the internet has gained popularity due to the capacity for any computer to contribute information to the world wide web. But the quality and content of the information has been one of the largest dilemmas facing the digital information era. So how do you know the information you’re reading is correct?

From Kentucky Virtual Library

“The Web is a self publishing medium. There is no editorial or quality control over much of the content on the Web. Be a discriminate consumer of information.”

What is a student to do?

Questions you MUST ask…..

Who is responsible for this information? Is the responsible party a credible source? What is the purpose of this site? Is the design of the site professional, well

documented, and up to date? Is this information consistent with other

information about the topic? Does this information make sense to me?

Steps to Selecting a Reliable Source Find a reputable source! Do not type

your topic into Google and select the first link that shows up. Most websites are un-reviewed and sometimes intentionally false. Using verified sources ensures your information will be correct.

WHO BUILDS WEBSITES:

.com (commerce) .org (organization) .edu (educational) .gov (U.S. federal) .uk (United Kingdom federal) .net (digital network)

Linking Sites

Some sites have links to other sites and archives. The Kentucky Virtual Library (www.kyvl.org), ProQuest (www.proquest.com), and the Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/) have many sites and scholarly journals already in their system.

Are these reliable sites?

www.wikipedia.com

www.history.com

IF YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT USING WIKIPEDIA…DON’T!

Wikipedia is fully editable by anyone (including you and me) and cannot be trusted. If you are out of ideas for sources and you must use the site, go to the bottom of the page and use either the note reference section or bibliography. Directly citing Wikipedia will NOT count as a source.

Professional Design

http://www.georgehutchins.com/

http://www.newt.org/

What are the differences between the two?

Cross Referencing

Does this information make sense to me?

Is this information consistent with what I already know?

http://descy.50megs.com/Emankato/mankato.html

When You Find The Right Source

Copy Down All the Information! Be very sure to write down all the

information available to you, including, title, author(s), year published, who published it, and where the publisher is located

Now You Try

http://www.rythospital.com/2011/

So What is a Student to do? Ask questions Use databases Use a VARIETY of sources

Remember…

Be A Discriminating Consumer!!!

For Your Project….

This project requires six sources, and may not be only online sources. Dunbar’s library and the Fayette Co. Library system both have an extensive collection of sources. Go up and ask a librarian, they would be happy to help!