Sorting Through the Web: How to Select Relevant and Accurate Information

    The WWW or World Wide Web has a lot of information and sources, like A LOT. It can be overwhelming and it's hard to choose the right source because of its wide range of options. I recall being taught how to select the appropriate websites to visit when my group members and I had to create our research for the course project. Since it’s for research, we need credible and reliable information. We were assigned sections to contribute to our research, and that particular groupmate sent their portion. At the time, I was with the group leader, and I noticed that she was unsure of how she would react because the groupmate had sent a Wikipedia source, which was out of date since it had been written in 1900. I don’t know; I forgot. At that point, I was also unsure of how to respond—should I laugh or feel disappointed? Not everyone may know where to go for accurate and relevant information. I learned from that experience that information retrieval on its own is not good enough for research purposes. Understanding the appropriate approaches and techniques is essential for choosing accurate and relevant information from the WWW, particularly when trying to tell the difference between false and actual content.

    Accuracy is important. Since Wikipedia is open source, it is possible that some of the information there is inaccurate. Maybe because of her stress at the time, our group leader was forced to complete the work herself. The risk of incorrect information is that it replaces truth with disinformation, which may influence public perspective and lead to sources being mistrusted. It may result in false beliefs and unwanted results, including scams. Nevertheless, it's better to develop media literacy and critical thinking abilities for identifying inaccurate data. For that reason, I try to learn as much as I can and put it into practice so that I can teach others. After completing my Webquest task, we were given the assignment in our ELIE course to research the origins of the internet, its contributions, and the differences between Web 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0. I was able to understand the task and complete it by using a few techniques.

    Before I retrieve any information, I start by evaluating the author's credentials and expertise. I consider their educational background. Next, I check if the source is published by reputable organizations, such as academic institutions or established media outlets. I consider using websites particularly intended for educational use, such as.com,.org,.net,.gov, and.edu. Furthermore, I look for citations and references that support the information presented. It can often be found at the bottom part of the website or the last page of the material. Most importantly, remember my groupmate sent a source from Wikipedia from 1900 I don’t know. It reminds me to intentionally assess the publication date to ensure the information is current and relevant (information is considered relevant from sources 5-10 years ago). Finally, I consider whether the information is objective and free from bias. The difficulty of distinguishing between reliable and unreliable sources can be solved through understanding how to select relevant or accurate information. I was able to accomplish more and make better use of the WWW by using these techniques in my web quest.