SJSU Web Workshop
Fall 2009
S. Gallardo
In this lecture, we will learn some tips about using the Internet for research.
I. Choosing research sources
II. Choosing academic research sources
--Peer-reviewed
--Academic journal v. Magazine
This lecture is based on three guidelines for researching on the web:
I. Use trusted sources
II. Know your URL
III. Evaluate your sources
I. Trust the source. Love your librarian.
http://www.sjlibrary.org/gateways/academic/
for peer-reviewed resources:
>SJSU subject>W>WS>articles
II. Know your URL.
Usually, just seeing the address (URL) of a site will tell you several important
things -- this can help you quickly decide whether a site is worth investigating further
A. The standard beginning
World Wide Web
http://www.sjsu.edu
Alternative: www.sjsu.edu
or sjsu.edu
exceptions: http://as.sjsu.edu/
B. Actual name
http://www.sjsu.edu
or http://www.princeton.edu
http://www.latimes.com
http://www.chevrolet.com
C. Ending (suffix)
Five major website suffixes:
1. Commercial
http://www.ford.com
http://www.espn.com
http://www.msmagazine.com/
2. Educational
http://www.stanford.edu
3. Government
http://www.census.gov
4. Organizations
http://www.glide.org
http://www.aspca.org
5. Network
http://www.earthlink.net
http://www.php.net ...
Finally, newer : .tv .info .biz .us .ws .tv
countries: .uk .mx .my .cn .ru .it etc….
D. So what do we know about these addresses?
Are these helpful academic sites?
http://www.nra.org ?
http://www.krispykreme.com ?
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Greekculture.html
http://civilrights.org/
III. Evaluate your sources. Use your judgement
and common sense. 
.Evaluate the URL
.Find the “About Us” statement
.Assess author's qualifications
.Assess date, sources
.If unsure, scavenge...
Is it academically reliable?
Toolbox approach— Does it have value other than strictly academic?
Keep these guidelines in mind when you do web searches!
Use your knowledge of urls to sift through search results.
Tip: If you hit a broken link, try “backing up” to the last / in the url
Review:
I. Know & watch your url
II. Use trusted sources
III. Evaluate sources carefully.
Keep these in mind as you complete your worksheet....
Download worksheet here
Below are some of the links you’ll be using.
1. Google search engine http://www.google.com
3. Focus on the Family http://www.family.org
Family Research Lab http://www.unh.edu/frl/frlbroch.htm
5. Warrick Dunn Foundation
6. International Parliamentary Union
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif.htm
7. http://un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/
8. Femstats (IWPR) http://femstats.net
10. Internet archive http://archive.org/
Additional guides:
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Evaluate.html