1. Case File #4: Be a Search-Savvy
Detective
Investigation Skills for Students
(and Other Interested Learners!)
#DigiFoot12 July 24, 2012

2. Who is today's lead detective?
Tracy Poelzer
·District Technology Coordinator, SD #73
Kamloops, BC Canada
·Teacher-Librarian
·Mom of two teenagers
Twitter: @TracyPoelzer
http://smallbytes.blogs.sd73.bc.ca

3. ·Participate through Blackboard Collaborate
interaction tools (thumbs-up, applause, happy
face, etc.)
·Type questions or comments in the chat section -
The "wing men" moderators will keep track of
questions so we can answer them at the end of the
session
·Feel free to tweet about what we're learning in this
session by using the Twitter hashtag: #DigiFoot12

4. Steps to Effective Research
1. Good quality, purchased databases and subscription
resources (encyclopedias, peer-reviewed articles, etc.)
2. Library books (make sure content is
relevant/current).
3. Pre-selected sites
- (teacher-approved)
Google Custom Search
Sweet Search site
4. Searching the free web Do you follow these
steps?

5. Great Things About the Internet Not-So-Great Things About the Internet
Anyone can be an author Anyone can be an author
Anyone can share opinions, thoughts, Anyone can share opinions, thoughts,
feelings on subjects with a large audience. feelings on subjects with a large audience.
There are tons of great, free tools available that allow There are tons of great, free tools available that allow
people to easily create professional looking sites. people to easily create professional looking sites.
An overwhelming amount of information on any given An overwhelming amount of information on any given
topic is available to us at the click of a button, 24/7. topic is available to us at the click of a button, 24/7.
Super search engines allow us to peruse information on Super search engines allow us to peruse information on
the web from a multitude of sources. the web from a multitude of sources.

6. Image found at: http://blogs.csm.arts.ac.uk/documentation-2009/serra-tansel/paper/

7. How can we search through everything in this
"tangled web"
and just get to the good stuff?
Image found at: http://www.123rf.com/photo_4786396_a-man-tangled-up-in-wires-and-cables.html
Are you a confident web searcher?

8. Start with good keywords (and synonyms)
·Keep it simple - don't use too many words
·Are there other ways to say the same thing? Think of synonyms, check results and
"related searches", etc. for other suggestions of words or word combinations that
could be used in your search.
·Don't incorporate an answer into your search query.... you just might find what
you're looking for (and it might not be right). (Ie: "Is the average length of an
octopus 18 inches?"

9. Carefully Examine (and Think Critically About) Your
Search Results
The first result is not necessarily the best result!
·What does the url (website address) tell you? Do you recognize the domain name /
extension?
·Who is the author/owner of the site?
·How old is the website? Is it current?
·Does the site appear to have quality information? Are there
spelling/grammatical errors? Any other "red flags"?
·Are multiple sites telling you the same information? (triangle method of
research)

10. Domain Extensions
Let's use the Blackboard Collaborate whiteboard to brainstorm some domain extensions....

11. Extension Guide
( based on the list in Alan November's "Web Literacy for Educators Book)
.edu Higher education (most U.S. colleges)
.ac Academic institution (outside of U.S. - not usually Canada)
.k12 U.S. school site (not all U.S. schools use this)
.sch Schools in United Kingdom (not all U.K. schools use this)
.com Commercial site
.co Company (usually used with a country code: e.g., co.uk)
.org Any organization
.gov Government agency
.gc.ca Canadian government agency
.net Network
.mil U.S. Military

12. Country Code Examples
.at Austria .ie Ireland
.au Australia .in India
.ca Canada .iq Iraq
.ch Switzerland .it Italy
.cn China .jp Japan
.de Germany .nz New Zealand
.es Spain .pk Pakistan
.et Ethiopia .uk United Kingdom
.fr France .us United States
.gr Greece .za South Africa

13. Who is the author of the site?
·Scan the perimeter of the site for info.
·Is there an author mentioned?
·Is there a company, organization or school name on the website?
·Is there an email or contact information listed on the website?
·What does WHOis tell you about the owner of this site?
Try a site like http://www.easywhois.com/

14. How Old is the Site?
·Scan the perimeter and look for "Last update" information.
·Examine date/time stamp on blog posts, etc.
·If this site links to other sites, are the links current and "live"?
Is the Site Well-Written? Are there "Red Flags"?
·Are there spelling/grammatical errors that would indicate that this might
not be a high quality website?
·Does the information seem realistic?
·Remember: It can be convincing, well-written, and professional looking, but it
still might not be true.

15. The Triangle Method of Research
1
3 2 Have you used the triangle
method with your
students?

16. Great Acronym for Critical Web Searching
(courtesy of Alan November's "Web Literacy for Educators")
R Read the URL
E Examine the Content
A Ask About the Author and Owner
L Look at the Links

17. Other Strategies to Try
More information and tutorials on these topics can be found in this week's Case File
resources on the Digifoot12 wiki
·If in doubt, do another search (or compare to other types of resources/media,
etc.)
·Search within a domain extension type
i.e.: "election site:.bc.gc.ca"

18. Other Strategies to Try
More information and tutorials on these topics can be found in this week's Case File
resources on the Digifoot12 wiki
·Search within a specific, reliable site.
i.e. "mars site:nasa.gov"

19. Other Strategies to Try
More information and tutorials on these topics can be found in this week's Case File
resources on the Digifoot12 wiki
·Test out different search engines.
Google is not the only one out there, and might not be the best tool for the job!
Choose the Best Search for your Information Need (link)

20. Your Case Assignments!
1. Go to the assignment wiki at: http://searchsavvy.pbworks.com
Please print off the evaluation checklist. Work through at least one of the pairs of websites and
decide which is reliable and which is not.
If you have time, evaluate more than one pair of websites.
2. Scroll down to the "Other Great Links to Investigate" section on the DigiFoot12 wiki (week
4). Try out some of the resources to help you hone your search/investigation skills!
3. If you are an educator or parent, visit this Google Doc
that lists resources for teaching search
strategies. Check out some of the resources listed in this document, and please add any that you
can recommend as well!

21. Any questions?