Empowerment

Technologies
Quarter 1 – Module 3:
Contextualized Online Search
and Research Skills

1
What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master the Contextualized
Online Search and Research Skills. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many different learning
situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged
to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to
correspond with the textbook you are now using.

The module has one lesson, namely:

Lesson 3 – Contextualized Online Search and Research Skills

After going through this module, you are expected to:

Use precise keywords to improve online searches; and
Evaluate website’s credibility
 What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of paper.

1. A reliable source is .
a. Biased
b. Trying to sell you something
c. Trusted
d. Google

2. To broaden your search on advertising, you will search the term .

a. advertising OR commercial
b. advertising AND commercial
c. advertising BUT commercial
d. advertising NOT commercial

3. Which of the following do you not need to include in a citation?

a. author, if available
b. title of the article
c. date of publication
d. call number

4. Any information coming from these domain types are usually reliable except
a. .com
b. .org
c. .edu
d. .gov

5. What symbol will you use to search for the exact term or phrase?
a. ()
b. ““
c. &
d. –

What’s In

But before we proceed, let’s have a review first of our previous lesson.

We've heard from our previous lesson about the various cyber risks that we can face online. If we post too
much information about ourselves, we can be a victim of identity theft. If we enter our bank details on
phishing sites, our savings on our bank accounts may be compromised. Our computer may slow down if we
are not careful to download content from unreliable websites.
We also shortly tackled how to protect our protection online and how to avoid copyright infringement by
always asking permission or giving credit to the original author of the page or information.
This next topic that we will discuss will help us to be more knowledgeable when we visit and get information
from different websites.
 Teaching our learners online research skills is important for a range of reasons. As a teacher, you should know that you can sh

What’s New

Online Search Activity

Do an online search to answer the given question using any search engine. Provide the required data below.
Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.
Question: When do you say that an information contained in web pages is credible or not?

Search engine used:

Keywords:
Number of Search Results:
Sites used to answer question:
1.
2.
3.

Answer to the question:

 What is It

Did you type the whole question on the search box? Are you sure that you get your answer
from reliable websites? Are the authors of article you get your answers from are credible?
Are there articles listed on the search results that re irrelevant to your question?

On this lesson, we will learn how to evaluate website’s credibility and use keywords to
specify our search term.

Tips on Improving Search and Research Skills

Online search and research are more than just ‘googling’ – typing a word in Google and then
clicking the search button. It is a skill that every Internet user should know to do smart searching
and this starts with improving search and research skills to get better results.
Here are the things that you need to know to improve your online search and research skills.
This will guide you to obtain the most relevant information that you need.

1. When searching online, narrow your topic. Identify the key concepts or
important ideas. Assuming that you would like to search for the answer to
this question:
“What precautionary measures should you observe when you are
logged- in in a public computer?”

Do not type the whole question in the search box. Typing the whole
question often leads to a large number of and inappropriate search
results.
From the question, the keywords are: precautionary measures, observed, logged-in, public computer.
Keywords are terms that are used in by most search engines to find related documents.
2. Put the word “AND” between each keyword to create a search string. You may type the following in
the search box:
Precautionary measures AND observe AND logged-in AND public computer
You will notice a decrease in search results as shown below.

1. Identify synonyms of the key words. Not all databases or articles use the same words to
describe a topic. Group similar words together by using the word “OR” for a quick and
relevant search.
In the case of our example: the synonyms of some of the keywords are: Precautionary measures –
preventive measures
Observe – pay attention to Logged-in – signed-in
You may type the following in the search box:
Precautionary measures OR preventive measures AND observe OR pay attention to AND logged-in
OR signed-in AND public computer

This gives you another set of search results:

4. Review the first pages returned. If these are not helpful, change your keywords for a better
description.
In this case you may remove the phrase “pay attention to” and then type the following in the search box:
Precautionary measures OR preventive measures AND observe AND
Logged-in or signed-in AND public computer.
This gives you another set of search results.
If you think you have found what you are searching for, then you may stop here. Otherwise, you may
proceed with these other techniques.
5. Use the plus (+) sign for a more specific search. Just type + before a keyword to indicate that
the word after the sign is a required word that must be found in the search.
Example: +preventive measures

6. Use the minus (-) sign for a more specific search. If you want to exclude a word from your search,
place a minus sign just before (without any space) the word you want to exclude.
Example: public computers -personal

7. Use wildcards for a broader search. Wildcard characters (*) let you find variations of a word.
Example: measur*

8. Use quotation marks to find phrases or names. Enclose the phrase or names that you want to search
in quotation marks.
Example: “precautionary measures"

9. Use several search engines. Search engines are programs that look for documents based from
specified keywords and return these documents where the keywords were found. Major search engines
include Google, Yahoo (which uses Google), AltaVista, Bing, and Lycos.
Evaluating Websites
To help you evaluate the website’s credibility, here are the questions that you need to answer:
1. What is the domain type of the website?

If it is a personal website, then you should further evaluate the website.

2. Who wrote the article?

Check if the author’s credentials or affiliations are listed so you can tell whether or not the author is
qualified to write the topic. Check also the publisher of the article if it is a reliable publisher. Make sure that
the author provides e-mail or a contact address/phone number.

3. What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced?

It is also important to check the document’s purpose and why it was produced. The document should
provide accurate information and must be objective in presenting it. Some websites produce documents for
the purpose of motivating users to buy products. If this is the case, information might be biased. However,
bias is not necessarily bad but you need to investigate the author or connections.

4. When was the document published and updated?

The document should be regularly updated. As to the freshness of the date, it depends on the
information needed. For some topics you want current information. For others, you want
information near the time it became known. The links should also be up-to-date. There should be no
dead links.
What’s More
Create a flowchart on how to evaluate a website. Below is the sample of a flowchart. Write
your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
What I Have Learned

Explain each question in not less than three sentences. Provide a separate sheet of paper for your answers.
The following is the rubric in rating your answer.

Rubrics: Content – 10pts Grammar – 5pts

1. What is the significance of using keywords when searching for information on the web?

2. How do the tips in conducting online research help you find the correct query results?

3. What is the role of the website's domain in evaluating website credibility?

 What I Can Do

Explain thoroughly why the website below is not credible as a source of your data for your research. Write
your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
 Assessment

Directions: The column on the left tells what to search for. On the second column, you will write on the
search box what will you type to achieve the task. Apply the use of symbols and tip you’ve learned. The first
one is done for you. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper

Task Search Term

Find web pages that Atlantis continent
have...
all these words:
Atlantis continent
Atlantis continent –shuttle –film –movie
But don't show pages
that have...any of
these unwanted
words: shuttle film
movie

Find web pages that

have...
all these words:
Atlantis
Find web pages that
have...
all these words:
Waterbury

But don't show pages

that have... any of
these unwanted
words: Connecticu t
CT

Find web pages that

have...
all these words:
Waterbury

this exact wording or

phrase: San Diego
State University
Find web pages that
have...
the song title of this
lyrics: Mama
‘something’

‘something’ not to
‘something’ my
life
this exact wording or
phrase: Bill 602P

this exact wording or

phrase: We know he
has weapons of
mass destruction

this exact wording or

phrase:
demonstrating genuine
leadership

this exact wording or

phrase: Jenny kissed
me when we
met
 Additional Activities

Evaluate the given two web pages by answering the questions on the table. Write your answer on a separate
sheet of paper.

http://zapatopi.net/tre eoctopus/ http://animals.national

geographic.com/animal
s/invertebrates/common-
octopus

What is the domain

type?

Does the page list the

author?

Does it provide
accurate information?

Does the page list the

publisher?

Does it offer limited

advertising?

Does it present
information
objectively?

Is the page current?

Is it updated?

Are the links up-to-

date?

Does it contain dead

links?