~ Web Search Strategy ~

Before you go on line...............

Have a very clear idea what information you are looking for

- fact or opinion; original research or news articles, historical or as current as possible?
- how general or specific is your search, how many sources of which type are required?
- brainstorm to develop a list of search terms or phrases; use synonyms and related terms to widen or narrow your search; be prepared to use boolean logic. [see Questioning and Concept mapping ]

Do not rely on the Internet as your only source of information

-it can often be quicker and less frustrating to use books, magazines and CD-ROMs, so check them out first!!

Before you click on anything else......

Check the Adelaide High School Intranet!

- make use of these pages set up specifically to help you become expert users of the Internet!

Do the search , taking advantage of any advanced or refining techniques available.

Every engine or directory is searched differently. Using any advanced search option available will refine your search more quickly and produce more relevant results.

Scan documents and determine if the information is relevant and credible

Remember anyone can publish anything on the Net. You have to be able to verify your sources.
[see Evaluation of web sites]

Save to your floppy disk if relevant, or print any useful graphics.

It is quicker to save a page to your disk than it is to print or copy & paste into a document.
You can examine saved information later when you are offline and have more time.

Record URLs whenever you save/print information, for your bibliography and for future reference.

You could bookmark these sites, but remember these bookmarks remain only with that particular computer, if you are lucky!

It is almost inevitable that your search will have to be repeated or continued at different times, so save as you go and don’t forget to record URLs!!

It is very easy to copy and paste from the Internet BUT to pretend that information is your own is:
• LAZY - you are learning nothing.
• ILLEGAL - you are stealing some-one else’s intellectual property.
• INCORRECT - the information has to be ‘translated’ by you  to answer your particular assignment otherwise it is irrelevant.

Plagiarism is definitely a form of cheating - pretending the work copied from someone else or somewhere else is your own. It is so easy to do as well, using computers. The copy'n'paste or drag'n'drop methods allow you to quickly and easily 'grab' chunks of information. Making notes electronically in that way is quite OK, but (and its a big BUT), you MUST NOT copy'n'paste that exact information into your assignment unless it is as an acknowledged quote.
Instead you should read, understand and translate the information that you have electronically noted into your own words, in a way that makes it relevant for your specific assignment. Don't forget to acknowledge all your sources properly in a bibliography.

Penalties
Be warned that plagiarism, deliberate or not, is dealt with severely. At university level for example, you will at best be given a failing grade for the assignment, or even the subject; and at worst be suspended from your course.