What are the Standards and Practices of Good Internet Research?

When you type your search terms into the search engine (for instance, Google):
• Use correct grammar and spelling
• Be as specific as possible
• Be thorough
• Narrow your search, so you get exactly what you want

Vary your search terms. For example, when researching early rap: “KRS1” or “KRS One” or “Chris Parker” or “Kris Parker,” or other things associated with him, like the term “Edutainment” could work to get you the results you’re looking for.

Use quotation marks around your search term, if the words have to
go together. For example, Chris Parker becomes “Chris Parker,” so that you don’t
get everyone named Chris, and all the Parkers in the world.

Always verify your information by looking at more than one reputable source.

Read the information on the website carefully. Is it sound? Does it make sense? Does it seem credible?

Determine who wrote the website by looking at “Contact Us,” or “About Us,” or the citations and bibliography at the bottom, or

Go back to the root directory of the website to see who hosted it. For example, in the url: http://www.columbia.edu/texts/religion/philosophy.html, the root directory is www.columbia.edu. When looking at the root directory, look for the type of website it is. You can find that out by looking at the letters that come after the first dot. For example:

.org = organization (non-profit)
.edu = college or university (- usually. Sometimes it’s a school system.)
.net = a commercial website.
.com = company or commercial. Anyone can have one.
.gov = U.S. Government web site.
.info = information about some agency or group.
Two letter codes, are country codes, but they are commercial.
Some examples are:
.uk = United Kingdom (also called Great Britain).
.tv = Transylvania (a part of the country of Romania) Romania has allowed worldwide television stations to buy .tv

Verify your source by making sure you look at more than one source.

MAKE SURE TO CITE YOUR SOURCES IN THE WRITE-UPS, ESSAYS, AND PAPERS THAT YOU TURN IN TO YOUR TEACHERS.