5. Wikipedia Woes and Google Gaffs
What are the pros and cons of so
much information being online?
What do you do to be sure you’re
finding credible resources?
Which criteria did you like best
from the “Spotting Bad
Science”? Why?
What does A or B testing mean
for your research online?
Who do you think is responsible
for fact checking? Why?
Brumming, A. (2015) A rough guide to spotting bad
science. Compound Interest.
http://www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/02/a-
rough-guide-to-spotting-bad-science/
New York Times (2013) If a Story Is Viral, Truth May
Be Taking a Beating http://nyti.ms/1d7MUUB
A or B. (2015). Planet Money podcast.
http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/12/11/4594
12925/episode-669-a-or-b
6. Today I Learned (TIL)
In Reddit people share “headlines” in TIL format
Which resources are “good”
Which resources are “bad”
How do you know?
11. Check for CRAAP
Currency
How recent is the
information?
Can you locate a date
when the resource was
written/created/updated?
Based on your topic, is this
current enough?
Why might the date
matter for your topic?
12. Check for CRAAP
Relevance
How does this
information relate to
your topic?
Who is the intended
audience?
How does this resource
compare to others you
have looked at?
13. Check for CRAAP
Authority
Can you determine who
the author/creator is?
What are their
credentials (education,
affiliation, experience,
etc.)?
Who is the publisher or
sponsor of the
work/site?
Is this publisher/sponsor
reputable
14. Check for CRAAP
Accuracy
Is the information
supported with evidence?
Has the information been
reviewed?
How confident are you that
the content is correct?
15. Check for CRAAP
Purpose
Is the content primarily
opinion?
Is the information
balanced or biased?
What is the purpose of
the information? Is it to
inform, teach, sell,
entertain or persuade
16. Which words?
Take a look at these pictures.
What do you see?
Go here and fill in a word to
describe each picture
A
D C
B
17. Keywords are critical!
Sample topic:
How have processed foods negatively altered the health
of Americans?
First, break the question down into key concepts:
Concept #1: processed foods
Concept #2: health
Concept #3: Americans
18. More on keywords…
Expand your list to include synonyms then add
to it once you have done some background
reading.
How have processed foods negatively altered the
health of Americans?
processed foods health Americans
convenience food
junk food
food preservation
fitness
BMI
energy
United States
North America
children
19. Putting it all together…
How have processed foods negatively altered the
health of Americans?
Processed food OR junk food
AND
Health OR obesity OR “body mass index”
AND
United States OR USA OR North America
processed foods health Americans
convenience food
junk food
food preservation
fitness
BMI
obesity
United States
North America
children
20. Create keywords
Complete Part 1 of your worksheet
Write your research topic on your worksheet
Pass it to a group member
Group member fills in key concepts and synonyms
Give the worksheet back to the original owner
Use these websites to help you create
keywords/synonyms
21. Potential Topics
Positive/negative effects of fish farming
Environmental problems/solutions with the meat
industry
US government support for farming, pros/cons
Food deserts in urban populations
Sustainability of a vegan diet
22. Improve Google
Advanced Google
searching
Duck Duck Go
Try these alternatives
Environmental Protection
Agency
Check out the TSEM
Research Guide
23. Find a website resource!
Use your keywords in Google
Use your keywords in one of the Google alternatives
Pick the most interesting result
Enter your results here:
https://padlet.com/lputnam/tsemsp17c1
Enter your name, search string, and a link to the website
24. Take a look at the results
Assess the results posted with the CRAAP assessment
What problems did you have ….
Coming up with keywords?
Searching for a website?
25. Thanks for listening!
Fill out Part 2 of your paper worksheet
Fill out 3 TIL statements about your library session today
Hand the worksheet in to the librarian
Next library session:
Pre-class reading and prepare for discussion
Use your keywords to find books/articles
26. Questions?
Feel free to contact me:
Laksamee Putnam
lputnam@towson.edu
410.704.3746.
Twitter: @CookLibraryofTU
Or any reference librarian:
Visit Cook Library Reference Desk
410.704.2462.
IM – tucookchat