Internet Literacy

Your Vehicle for Information Evaluation

Why not Google?

• Anyone can make a website.• The top sites Google gives you is

based on popularity.• Google only shows the surface web,

not the deep web.

What is RADCAB?

This tool will helpyou to assess and

judge information you find online and

to think criticallyabout information

Relevancy

Ask yourself:

• Is the information relevant (or closely connected) to my question?

• Am I on the right track?

RelevancyKeywords

Let’s pretend we have a research assignment on recent findings about new planets being discovered outside of our solar system.USE EXAMPLE WHY

Nouns and objects planet planets

verbs and adverbs are usually thrown out

Using OR planet or planetsdiscovery or find

results with either one or both of your terms

Use “quotes” “solar system” use quotes to get exact phrase results

Using AND “new planet” and “solar system”

results will include both of your search words

Using NOT (or -) planet not starplanet-star

results are only the first word and not the second

site: planets site:eduplanets site:gov

Only edu sitesOnly gov sites

Appropriateness

Ask yourself:

• Is the information suitable for my age and core values?

• Will it help me answer my question?

Appropriateness

• Information sources that make you feel confused or uneasy are information

sources to be exited ASAP.• You are in charge of “policing” your own research activity. How? By setting your own personal boundaries for what you view, read and listen to that take

into account your age and core values.

Detail

Ask yourself:

• How much information do I need? • Is the depth of coverage adequate?

Detail

What are the details? How are they useful?

Site map Navigation and scope

Page organization: titles, headings, and subtitles

Navigation and evidence of quality construction

Works cited pagesCredit to information sources used

External links Additional information sources

Internal search engine Quick information retrieval

Interactive, graphic elementsVisual aids and interface interaction

Design appeal Easy and pleasant to use

Which site has enough

detail?

Currency

Ask yourself:

• When was the information published or last update?

Currency

• The quality of our research is related to how carefully we analyze the currency of our information sources.

• http://solarsystem.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm

Authority

Ask yourself:

• Who is the author of the information?• What are his or her qualifications?

Authority

• Authoritative information sources have everything to do with how accurate and credible the information presented is.

• What are the author's qualifications? Is the author associated with a particular school, university, organization, company, or governmental agency? Is his or her email address included on the website?

Bias

Ask yourself:

• Why was this information written?• Was it written to INFORM me,

PERSUADE me or SELL me something?

Bias

How do you know if the information you have found has a special agenda behind it? Does the information have a particular angle, slant, or spin to it?

Look for clues. Clues like:• the domain name • the domain suffix (.com, .edu, .gov, etc.) • the advertising • the mission statement • the authorship or organization behind the

information • the tone of voice or language used

Best places to start

Iowa AEA Onlinehttp://www.iowaaeaonline.org/

EBSCO and World Book Web

Sweet Searchhttp://www.sweetsearch.com/

Adapted with permissionfrom author

“RADCAB” ™ A mnemonic acronym for information evaluationCreated by Karen M. Christensson, M.S. Library Media Education