Searching For The Best Way To Search

               This past week, my class has been participating in many online research activities. The purpose of these activities was to hone our ability to search on the internet, getting answers fast while avoiding questionable sources. These activities taught us to use online resources responsibly, without quoting directly and only taking the information we need.

              A Google A Day is a game from Google in which players answer questions by using google to search for the single correct answer that will solve a puzzle. The day we did this activity I had a headache, and sifting through website after website on my glowing little phone screen, reading an abundance of miniscule typing while my head was throbbing is not something I would consider to be “fun”, but it was helpful and I definitely strengthened my searching abilities. One of the questions was unsolved by anyone in my class because every website had a different answer to the question. It was very frustrating because none of us knew which website had the right answer. Wikipedia even had the wrong answer. From this, I learned that I must check to make sure information is the same on multiple websites before trusting that it is true.

              If a website is trustworthy, it fits the definitions of three words: Accuracy, Authenticity, and Reliability. Accuracy means that the information is correct and matches information that is already known. Authenticity means the website is as it appears to be; meaning it provides the information it looks like it would provide. Reliability means that the website can be trusted as a legitimate data source. In class, we visited a website for the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus .

Tree Octopus. http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

This is a fake website created to look like a real one. There is no such thing as a Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, but if someone didn’t know how to find flaws in an illegitimate website, they would think it’s real. This website could not be used as a source in school because it does not fit the three definitions. It is not accurate because all the data it provides is false. It is not authentic because it’s a fake website for a fake animal rather than a real data source for a real animal, as it appears to be. It is not reliable because it is fake and therefore cannot be trusted.  After the activities we did in class, I’ll know how to avoid getting tricked by websites like this.