Learning objectives
- Master foundational search techniques using major search engines and academic databases
- Evaluate the credibility and relevance of online sources using established criteria
- Utilize advanced search operators and filters to refine research queries
- Organize and synthesize research findings using digital tools and note-taking strategies
- Apply ethical research practices including proper citation and plagiarism avoidance
Outcomes
- Conduct efficient and effective online research for academic, professional, or personal purposes
- Critically assess the reliability of websites, articles, and other digital content
- Leverage specialized research tools to access academic journals, government databases, and industry reports
- Produce well-organized research summaries with proper citations and references
Course outline
Module 1
Module 1: Topic 1
Topic 1
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of using search engines for online research?
- A. To create new websites
- B. To find relevant information on the internet ✓
- C. To download software
- D. To send emails
Why: Search engines are designed to help users locate and access relevant information from websites across the internet, making them essential tools for online research.
Q2. Which of the following is considered a credible source for academic research?
- A. A personal blog with no author credentials
- B. A peer-reviewed journal article ✓
- C. An anonymous forum post
- D. A social media comment
Why: Peer-reviewed journal articles undergo rigorous evaluation by experts in the field, making them highly credible sources for academic research.
Q3. What does the domain extension '.edu' typically indicate?
- A. A commercial website
- B. A government website
- C. An educational institution ✓
- D. A personal website
Why: The '.edu' domain extension is reserved for educational institutions like universities and colleges, which often provide reliable academic information.
Q4. When evaluating online sources, what does 'currency' refer to?
- A. The cost of accessing the information
- B. How recent or up-to-date the information is ✓
- C. The country where the website is hosted
- D. The language the content is written in
Why: Currency in source evaluation refers to how current or recent the information is, which is important because outdated information may no longer be accurate or relevant.
Q5. What is a key advantage of using boolean operators like 'AND' in search queries?
- A. They make searches slower
- B. They help narrow down search results by requiring all terms to be present ✓
- C. They automatically translate search terms
- D. They increase the number of irrelevant results
Why: Boolean operators like 'AND' help refine searches by ensuring all specified terms appear in the results, making the search more precise and reducing irrelevant information.
Module 2
Module 2: Topic 2
Topic 2
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of using quotation marks in a search query?
- A. To make the search faster
- B. To search for an exact phrase ✓
- C. To exclude certain words
- D. To search multiple websites
Why: Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for the exact phrase as written, rather than searching for the individual words separately.
Q2. Which Boolean operator would you use to exclude specific terms from your search results?
- A. AND
- B. OR
- C. NOT ✓
- D. PLUS
Why: The NOT operator (also written as minus sign -) excludes terms from search results, helping to filter out unwanted information.
Q3. What does the wildcard symbol (*) do in search queries?
- A. Searches for exact matches only
- B. Replaces unknown or variable parts of words ✓
- C. Excludes common words
- D. Searches only recent results
Why: The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard that can represent any word or part of a word, useful when you're unsure of exact spelling or want to find variations.
Q4. When evaluating online sources, what does the domain extension .edu typically indicate?
- A. Commercial website
- B. Government website
- C. Educational institution ✓
- D. Non-profit organization
Why: The .edu domain is reserved for accredited educational institutions, making these sources generally more reliable for academic research.
Q5. What is the most effective way to search for information about a specific time period?
- A. Use only the year in quotes
- B. Add date ranges or time-related keywords to your search ✓
- C. Search only news websites
- D. Use the OR operator with dates
Why: Including specific date ranges, decades, or time-related terms in your search helps narrow results to the relevant time period you're researching.
Module 3
Module 3: Topic 3
Topic 3
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of using quotation marks when searching online?
- A. To make the search faster
- B. To search for an exact phrase ✓
- C. To exclude certain words
- D. To search multiple websites
Why: Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for the exact phrase as written, rather than individual words scattered throughout a page.
Q2. Which search operator would you use to exclude specific terms from your search results?
- A. AND
- B. OR
- C. NOT or - ✓
- D. *
Why: The NOT operator or minus sign (-) excludes specific terms from search results, helping to filter out irrelevant information.
Q3. What does the asterisk (*) symbol represent when used in online searches?
- A. An exact match
- B. A wildcard for unknown words ✓
- C. Exclusion of terms
- D. A site-specific search
Why: The asterisk (*) acts as a wildcard that can represent any word or phrase, useful when you're unsure of specific terms or want to find variations.
Q4. Which search technique helps you find information from a specific website only?
- A. Using quotation marks
- B. Using the OR operator
- C. Using site: followed by the domain ✓
- D. Using parentheses
Why: The site: operator followed by a domain name (like site:wikipedia.org) limits search results to that specific website only.
Q5. What is the main advantage of using Boolean operators in online searches?
- A. They make searches load faster
- B. They provide more precise and targeted results ✓
- C. They automatically fact-check information
- D. They translate search terms
Why: Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) help create more precise search queries by defining relationships between search terms, leading to more relevant and targeted results.
Module 4
Module 4: Topic 4
Topic 4
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of using quotation marks around search terms in most search engines?
- A. To make the search faster
- B. To search for the exact phrase ✓
- C. To exclude certain words
- D. To search for synonyms
Why: Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for the exact phrase or sequence of words, rather than individual words scattered throughout a document.
Q2. Which Boolean operator would you use to find results that contain either one term OR another term?
- A. AND
- B. NOT
- C. OR ✓
- D. PLUS
Why: The OR operator expands your search by finding results that contain either one term or the other term, or both terms.
Q3. What does the minus sign (-) do when placed directly before a search term?
- A. Makes the term more important
- B. Searches for synonyms of the term
- C. Excludes results containing that term ✓
- D. Searches for the exact spelling only
Why: The minus sign (-) is used to exclude results that contain the specified term, helping to filter out unwanted information from your search results.
Q4. Which of the following is the best way to search for information about a specific website?
- A. Type the website name in quotes
- B. Use the site: operator followed by the domain ✓
- C. Add 'website' to your search terms
- D. Use the AND operator with the site name
Why: The site: operator allows you to search within a specific website or domain by typing 'site:' followed by the website's domain name.
Q5. What is a wildcard (*) most commonly used for in search queries?
- A. To search multiple websites at once
- B. To represent unknown or variable parts of words or phrases ✓
- C. To make searches case-sensitive
- D. To search for images only
Why: The wildcard (*) acts as a placeholder for unknown words or parts of words, allowing you to find variations of phrases or complete partial information you're searching for.
Module 5
Module 5: Topic 5
Topic 5
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of evaluating sources during online research?
- A. To find the most popular websites
- B. To determine the credibility and reliability of information ✓
- C. To locate the newest sources available
- D. To identify sources with the most images
Why: Evaluating sources helps researchers determine whether information is trustworthy, accurate, and suitable for their research needs.
Q2. Which of the following is NOT a reliable indicator of source credibility?
- A. Author credentials and expertise
- B. Publication date and currency
- C. Colorful graphics and attractive design ✓
- D. Peer review or editorial oversight
Why: While attractive design may make a source appealing, it does not indicate the accuracy or reliability of the information presented.
Q3. What does the acronym CRAAP stand for in source evaluation?
- A. Current, Relevant, Accurate, Authoritative, Purpose ✓
- B. Credible, Recent, Appropriate, Academic, Professional
- C. Clear, Reliable, Authentic, Approved, Published
- D. Comprehensive, Researched, Analyzed, Assessed, Proven
Why: CRAAP is a popular framework for evaluating sources, standing for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.
Q4. When evaluating a website's authority, what should you look for?
- A. The number of advertisements on the page
- B. The author's qualifications and the organization's reputation ✓
- C. The website's color scheme and layout
- D. The length of the articles
Why: Authority is determined by the expertise of the author and the credibility of the publishing organization, not by visual design elements.
Q5. Which type of website domain is generally considered most reliable for academic research?
- A. .com (commercial)
- B. .net (network)
- C. .edu (educational institution) ✓
- D. .biz (business)
Why: Educational institution domains (.edu) are typically more reliable for academic research as they represent accredited educational organizations with scholarly standards.
Module 6
Module 6: Topic 6
Topic 6
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of using quotation marks around search terms in most search engines?
- A. To make the search faster
- B. To search for the exact phrase ✓
- C. To exclude unwanted results
- D. To search for synonyms
Why: Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for the exact phrase as written, rather than searching for the individual words separately.
Q2. Which Boolean operator would you use to find results that contain either one term OR another term?
- A. AND
- B. NOT
- C. OR ✓
- D. NEAR
Why: The OR operator broadens your search by finding results that contain either term, making it useful when you have multiple ways to describe the same concept.
Q3. What does adding a minus sign (-) before a search term accomplish?
- A. Searches for recent results only
- B. Excludes pages containing that term ✓
- C. Searches for exact matches only
- D. Prioritizes that term in results
Why: The minus sign acts as a NOT operator, excluding pages that contain the specified term from your search results.
Q4. When evaluating online sources, what does the domain extension '.edu' typically indicate?
- A. A commercial website
- B. A government website
- C. An educational institution ✓
- D. A non-profit organization
Why: The .edu domain is reserved for accredited educational institutions, which generally indicates more credible academic sources.
Q5. Which of the following is the best practice when citing online sources?
- A. Only include the website name
- B. Include the URL and access date ✓
- C. Only cite if the author is known
- D. Citations aren't needed for online sources
Why: Online sources should include the URL and the date you accessed the information because web content can change or be removed over time.
Module 7
Module 7: Topic 7
Topic 7
Knowledge check
Q1. What is the primary purpose of citing sources in online research?
- A. To make your work look more professional
- B. To give credit to original authors and allow others to verify information ✓
- C. To increase the word count of your document
- D. To show off how much research you have done
Why: Citing sources gives proper credit to original authors, demonstrates academic integrity, and allows readers to verify and explore the information further.
Q2. Which citation style is most commonly used in the humanities and liberal arts?
- A. APA
- B. Chicago
- C. MLA ✓
- D. IEEE
Why: MLA (Modern Language Association) style is the standard citation format used in humanities subjects like literature, philosophy, and liberal arts.
Q3. When creating a bibliography, sources should typically be arranged in what order?
- A. By date of publication
- B. Alphabetical order by author's last name ✓
- C. By importance to your research
- D. By type of source
Why: Most citation styles require bibliography entries to be arranged alphabetically by the author's last name, or by title if no author is listed.
Q4. What information is typically NOT required when citing a website?
- A. Author's name
- B. Publication date
- C. The web browser used to access the site ✓
- D. URL or web address
Why: The web browser used to access a website is not relevant information for citations. Standard website citations include author, title, publication date, and URL.
Q5. What is plagiarism in the context of online research?
- A. Using too many sources in your work
- B. Presenting someone else's work or ideas as your own without proper attribution ✓
- C. Citing sources incorrectly
- D. Using online sources instead of print sources
Why: Plagiarism occurs when you present another person's words, ideas, or work as your own without giving proper credit through citations, regardless of whether the source is online or print.