Using Material from the Web

The internet is the first place most of us look for information. But how do you tell if what you find is suitable to use in your coursework?

1. Look at who has produced the material.
   • anything from a government website is considered reliable. Look for domains such as .gov.au.
   • identifiable organisations 
   • qualified experts
2. do not use anonymous sources. If you can't verify the author then you can't verify the facts.
3. do not use very general sources - choose specialised sources instead
   • specialised sources will usually consider the information in context.

Use your judgement:

• does it feel like a few cherry-picked facts or a proper representation of the topic?
• is the tone professional?
• does it feel like misinformation or fake news?
• are you being 'sold' something?

Web searching tips

• Use domain limits. Add site:domain to your search
  • eg site:org.au to search only Australian organisation websites
  • you can use this to search within websites too.
• Use advanced search. This varies across browsers but for example, Google Chrome allows you to add date limits, search by file type and so on.
  • you must be signed into Google then look for Tools >> Advanced Search
• Put phrases in quotes to search the exact phrase. Search engines by default consider each term as separate.