Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter 13 Internet and the World Wide Web 529 • formulation of a solution and • action to resolve the problem. Finding accurate, relevant, and valid information is critical to the problem-solving process. Locating information on the web is relatively simple. However, it is important to evaluate the results. The criteria for evaluating results include accuracy, relevance, and validity. Accuracy Accuracy refers to the correctness of the information. Are the dates, places, and other factual information correct? For example, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. If the site gives the freezing point of water as some other temperature, the accuracy of all information on the site should be questioned. Does the page contain misspellings? Misspellings and grammar errors can be a sign that the information on the site is inaccurate. At the very least, it is a sign of sloppiness on the creator’s part. Relevance Relevance refers to how the results relate to the search phrases. Do the results include all words in the search string or just one? Most browsers support the [Ctrl][F] key combination to launch a search function. After clicking a link in the search results, use this function to locate the search string on the page. If it cannot be found, the page is likely not relevant to the search string. Validity Validity refers to how appropriate the results are to the search question. Do the results answer the question of the searcher? It is important to verify the validity of the information that you retrieve. A method for ensuring the correctness of the information is called triangulation. If the same information can be located in at least three different sources, it is likely to be valid information. Another method FYI FYI Anyone can create a web page. Just because information appears on a web page does not make the information true, correct, or accurate. Living Online 1.1.2.1.1, 1.1.2.2.1 Living Online 6.2.5 Goodheart-Willcox Publisher Figure 13-14. Boolean operators and proximity operators can be used to improve searches. Boolean Operator Example Effect AND space launches AND Pluto Locate information in both phrases on the same page OR space launches OR Pluto Locate information on either phrase NOT space launches NOT Pluto Locate information on the first phrase, exclude information on the second phrase NEAR space launches NEAR Pluto Locate information where both phrases are used in close proximity on the same page FOLLOWED BY space launches FOLLOWED BY Pluto The first phrase comes before the second phrase on the page GS4 GS5