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Chester Fritz Library Research How Tos

Provides information on library research

Is Everything Online Fine to Use for Research Assignments?

Not necessarily. Websites and other sources on the internet can be biased and present inaccurate information. Sometimes it's hard to tell because most of the information will be accurate, but some won't be... and do you know who the author is, or who is sponsoring the site or web article?

Below are boxes to show best practices for searching Google, as well as several options for evaluating the material.

Google Search Tips

Control What You See on the First Page of Google Results

  • Use Quotation Marks for an exact phrase
    • Choose carefully: “food politics” will produce more diverse results than a long, narrow phrase like “political implications of food use”
  • Use Essential Words only
    • Avoid phrasing searches as questions.
    • A question will include extra words like “what are” and “who is” that will misdirect the search.
    • Starting a search with "How..." also opens you up to spammers.
  • Pre-limit Search to trusted Sites by including the phrase site:
    • for example "food scarcity" site:gov
    • other local or regional searches might use:
      • site:und.edu
      • site:nd.gov
  • Ensure you will connect with reports by including the phrase filetype:pdf
    • for example "food scarcity" filetype:pdf
  • Look for data by including the phrase filetype:xls
    • for example "food scarcity" filetype:xls
  • For More Tips visit Get More Out of Google Infographic
  • Read more about search operators here.

Utilize a Search Result List or Good Article for Better Searching

  • Pay attention to unfamiliar words
    • For example, if you type "immigrants sending money home" and you see the word "remittances" in the results, redo your search with that term for better results
  • Use Control F (Find) on a results list or in a pdf instead of scanning with your eyes for the words you want to see to save a lot of time
  • Look for People, Organizations (thinktanks, Universities, non-profits) and search those or visit their websites

Don't Rely on One Search Engine

  • Entering the exact same search term in different search engines or databases can yield different results. Even a search in Google Scholar will yield different results than a general search.
  • Be aware that some search engines like Google use algorithms to shape your search results to align with interests reflected in your search history. If you and a friend enter the same search terms in Google on your respective personal devices, you will probably get different results.

Most Important Tip for Google Scholar Users

Use "Find it @ UND" whenever possible. This can get you behind paywalls and connect you to our databases - see the directions under Finding Articles.

Thanks to Tasha Bergson-Michelson, Instructional and Programming Librarian at Castilleja School (and former Search Educator @ Google) for the inspiration and some of the examples

There is more information on Google Scholar on the Finding Articles page

Evaluating Websites: CRAAP Test

Evaluating Websites: The CRAAP test

  • Currency – The information should be current or updated regularly. Consider:
    • When was it created? Is a date given?
    • When was it updated or revised? Is a revision date important to the validity of the information?
    • Is the information on the page outdated for your topic?
    • Are the links current, updated regularly, or broken?
  • Relevance – The resource should add quality support for your argumentConsider:
    • What does it add to your argument or research?
    • Is this the best source for this information?
      • Is some information found only on this site? If so, is it credited to a reliable source?
    • Is the information appropriately complex?
    • Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?
  • Authority – The page should list the author’s credentials and provide a method of contact. Consider:
    • Reliability of website's domain (URL):
      • .edu - a higher education institution
      • .org - advocacy site (such as a not-for-profit)
      • .net - network organization site
      • .gov - a federal government site
      • .nd.gov - a state government site
      • .de (Deutchland) - country site
      • .com - business or commercial site
      • ~ (tilde) - Usually indicates a personal page
    • Who wrote the page? What credentials are listed for author/s? 
      • Is the person qualified to write this information?
      • Can you contact the author?
        • email? location? phone number?
      • Look at the about page.
        • What institution, organization, etc. published the document?
        • What qualifications do they have?
        • Do they have a bias?
    • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Is there an "about this site" link and is it up-to-date?
  • Accuracy & Objectivity (Facts or Bias) – The information on the website should be reviewed or refereed. Consider:
    • How detailed is the information?  
    • Is the information the same as what you are finding elsewhere? 
    • Is the information supported by evidence? (Determining if the information is opinion or fact)
      • If so,
        • Are the conclusions logical?
        • Are the conclusions drawn from research studies?
      • What types of sources are used?
        • Can you verify them?  
        • Are the sources cited correctly and evaluated?
    • ​​​​​​​Are there spelling, grammar, or typographical errors?
    • Are there obvious errors in facts or information?
    • Is the advertising clearly separated from the information?
  • Purpose – The webpage should provide accurate, objective information with limited advertising. Consider:
    • Why was this written and for whom? (What is the purpose of this site? Who is the target audience?)
      • Academic researchers? Children? Teens? Consumers?
      • What is the reading level of the page? For adults? Researchers? Consumers?
      • What signals about the desired audience does the design of the web page suggest?
        • For example, banner ads, animated images
    • What opinions are expressed by the author?
    • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
    • What goals or objectives does this page meet? Is there a vision, mission, or values statement?
    • How much advertising is on the page?
    • Other questions to ask:
      • Why did the creator create this site? What do they gain from its existence?
      • Are all aspects of your topic covered, both good and bad? What's left out? 
      • Is the coverage of the topic in-depth or superficial?

Evaluating Websites: IF I APPLY Method

When conducting research, it is important to be conscious of both the credibility of the sources you find and your personal biases that prejudice you to prefer certain sources over others. Librarians at Penn State and Marshall University created the IF I APPLY model to help research keep both of these problems in mind when evaluating information.

IF I APPLY Source Evaluation Tool

Often we seek information that confirms our own thoughts and feelings towards a topic. This is not research. Research and learning comes from finding sources that speak to the truth of a topic, no matter how uncomfortable it is. 

Only be keeping personal biases in check can you begin to vet information for credibility. These steps will help you find sources that are credible and reliable in your research process. 

This model has two parts: "IF I", which focuses on a researcher's individual / personal biases, and "APPLY", which focuses on how to evaluate sources.

Personal Steps

Identify emotions attached to topic: If you are taking the time to research a topic, you probably have opinions about it and are reluctant to seriously consider resources that diverge from your position. Recognizing what you feeling and how strongly you care about a topic will help you identify what biases you bring into the research process.

Find unbiased reference sources for proper review of topic: Even when your paper takes a strong, belligerent position on a topic, it behooves you as a researcher to also incorporate unbiased resources. Encyclopedias and other reference sources like Credo can be especially helpful for defining a topic.

Intellectual courage to seek authoritative voices on topic that may be outside of thesis: When conducting research, you will likely encounter experts and professional organizations that make claims that do not fully align with your paper's arguments. Some may contradict your thesis entirely. Rather than dismissing these sources, engaging with well-articulated opposing views can add nuance to your paper and show to your reader that you have considered myriad ideas when developing your thoughts.

Source Steps

Authority established. Does the author have education and experience in that field?: Not everyone who writes about a topic has the same level of expertise. While you should not automatically dismiss outside perspectives or the contributions of younger scholars, you should weigh such factors when determining the authoritativeness of a source.

Purpose/Point of view of source. Does the author have an agenda beyond education or information?: Consider why the author chose to write in the first place. Are they trying to persuade their reader? Do they have a personal stake in the topic that could effect their position (e.g., a toy saleswoman writing about the benefits of parents playing make-believe with their children)?

Publisher? Does the publisher have an agenda?: Take note of who publishes and funded a resource just like you would evaluate the resource's author. The writings of a historian published in a professional, peer-reviews journal may be of a different caliber than writings by the same historian published in a polemical magazine.

List of sources (bibliography): When evaluating a resource, try creating a "bibliography" of the people, books, and organizations that are quoted. Does the author incorporate ideas from different sources, or are they reliant on the claims of a single individual? Does the author name specific people and groups, or are sources' identities kept vague (e.g., "my contact", "some scientists")? Are there quotes of or links to these other sources of information, or is the author summarizing their words?

Year of publication: When was the source published? Older resources may not have had access to the same span of information that contemporary resources boast. Likewise, decades-old sources may employ theories and ideas out of step with current practices. You shouldn't immediately dismiss older sources-- sometimes their distance from contemporary resources can provide intriguing, contrasting perspectives-- but you should be mindful of their limitations when evaluating them.

Citation: Phillips, K., Roles, E., & Thomas, S. (2019). Navigating the Information Ecosystem: Getting Personal with Source Evaluation, IF I APPLY. In B. Steiz (Ed.) LOEX Annual Conference 2019. Minneapolis, MN. https://doi.org/10.26207/9z0c-7955