IT Hardware and Software (44-312)

Search Engines to use:

• Google Scholar
• Google
• Google Books
• Yahoo!Search

Search engines will not find:

• Content in sites requiring a login
  • Includes most periodical databases like EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, ACM Digital Library
• Information in commercial resources with domain limitations
• Non-web resources (print)
  • Includes books, government documents, archives, and print/microform periodicals

Authority

Determine the author's education or professional experience.

• Check the header and footer of a Web page for information or a link to information about the author or sponsor.
• Scan the beginning and end of the source to find a description of the author's credentials.
• Search catalog or a database to locate books or articles by the same author.

Bias

Check out the point of view and purpose.

• Read the "About Us" or the "About this Site" in web sources. Does the website or page have a extremely slanted point of view?<
• Look for footnotes or references that document the information in the source.
• Skim the text of a source to decide if the author is attempting to sell a product or make a false claim.
• Look for descriptions or reviews that acknowledge the pros and cons of a product, service, or opinion.

Currency

Evaluate the currency of the information.

• When was the source written or updated? Is it still accurate or relevant?