A sea of information

Because companies like Google make searching the internet easy to do, it's easy to forget the importance of evaluating your resources carefully! In a vast sea of easily accessible information, knowing where to look, how to limit and refine your search results and have better control over the sources you find is key to being successful, both as a student and out there in the "real world." 

Why evaluate?

Evaluate your sources to make sure they are of good enough quality for your research paper 

• If you use poor quality sources, your research paper could contain errors, overly biased information or out-of-date facts 

• Instructors will check your sources to see if you have made good decisions about where you found your information

• Knowing how to evaluate will help you make better decisions in other areas of your life, such as finding accurate medical information, voting on issues during election time, presenting reliable information to your coworkers in a meeting...etc.

What exactly is the internet?

"The Internet is global computer-based information system that is based on thousands of data networks scattered throughout the world. The networks may link hundreds, thousands, or millions of computers, allowing them to share information with one another and to share computational resources at businesses, universities, Internet service providers, governments, and other such organizations. Besides computer hardware, the Internet is also composed of software, cell phones, cameras, satellites, television monitors, robotic devices, and a wide array of other components. Whatever can be connected so that it can access the Internet is considered part of the Internet." [ by Gilliam Holmes, in The Gale Encyclopedia of Science - linked below ]