Research Skills Using Sources Credible And Relia

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Research Skills Using Sources Credible And Relia

Perform a quick Internet search, using Google or another major search engine. Select a search term related to nutrition science (for example: diet, sodium, or carbohydrates) and see what kind of results you receive. When considering a term to select, think about single words rather than phrases. In some cases your search term may contain two words (for example, unsaturated fat). Avoid phrases like “which diet will help me lose weight the fastest” or “top 10 foods to make me healthy.” You will also want to avoid being too general if the term selected can relate to multiple disciplines, like minerals (may end up with a lot of geology articles) or organic (may end up with more agricultural articles rather than nutrition).

Write a short essay (at least 250 words to address the questions/components below), using complete paragraphs and appropriate organization. Avoid incomplete sentences or bulleted lists (except for your search term and how many results were obtained).

Do not include a summary of the websites or a discussion about the topic you selected. The focus of this assignment is on critically evaluating web resources. It is not to show learning about the topic you selected to research. Also, the intent is to assess online articles and websites through a Google or similar search, not journal articles (even if available online) or a search through Google Scholar or the UMUC library. Ideally for your research you do want to search those for academic references, but the goal of this assignment is to evaluate general web resources. We know there are credible sources when searching in academic only references, so instead we are looking to hone your research skills using sources widely available to the general public.

Check your spelling and grammar before submitting. References are required in APA format.

Please provide the following information (listed in bulleted form):

  • your search term
  • how many “hits” you obtained

Then read some of these sources in detail, going no further than three pages into the search results. Critically evaluate the websites you have selected. Now, select one website that you consider a reliable/credible source and one that you consider false, misleading, or non-factual. Keep in mind that when searching for credible sources you should also determine if your source would be appropriate to use as a scholarly reference (to support your discussions and homework assignments).

Please provide in your essay information on the following for BOTH the credible and non-credible choice:

  • the name of the website and the link
  • the author or group providing this information
  • Is this a reliable/credible source? If so, how do you know? OR Is this a non-credible source? If so, how do you know?
  • What was the hardest part about sifting through nutrition information?