CIS 50: Computing and Information Technology
Internet Detective
At the end of this assignment, you will:
 develop skills that will help them use the Internet more effectively to support their
research for coursework and assignments
1. Assignment #1 - Submit your answers automatically through the Sound Bytes and Active
Helpdesk: SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS folder on the class website on Blackboard
What is Internet Detective
Internet Detective is a free online tutorial designed to help students develop their Internet
research skills. The tutorial looks at the critical thinking required when using the Internet for
research and offers practical advice on evaluating the quality of web sites. The tutorial is
specifically designed to help college students to develop skills that will help them use the
Internet more effectively to support their research for coursework and assignments.
It takes around an hour to complete the tutorial, though the advantage of an online tutorial is
that students can go over the material as often as they wish, practice their skills and test their
understanding.
By the end of the tutorial students will:
 understand that indiscriminate Internet research is not appropriate for college work
 know why information quality is an issue on the Web, especially for academic research
 have developed practical skills to help critically evaluate information found on the Internet
 be aware of the issues of plagiarism, copyright and citation of Internet resources
“Sure, you use the Internet all the time,
But you need to wise up to the web when you use it for
your college work”
At this level of your education you will be expected to:
 Be able to do your own independent research
 Locate and use a wide range of information sources
 Critically evaluate the information you find
 Synthesize information to form your own original piece
of work
 Present a balanced and well-informed argument
leading to your own conclusions
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CIS 50: Computing and Information Technology
Assignment #1: Internet Detective
Internet Detective, a free online tutorial designed to help students develop the critical thinking
required for their Internet research. Access the website: http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective
Find the answers to the following questions, submit them via Blackboard.
1.
Wise Up! List 3 Common mistakes made by students:
1.
2.
3.
2.
_________________ is a search engine that searches across a number of well-known search
engines simultaneously.
3.
Preparing for Emergencies is a parody of a site of the same name produced by the UK
government. Which of the following is the spoof site?
a. http://www.preparingforemergencies.gov.uk/
b. http://www.preparingforemergencies.co.uk/
4.
Which of the following is an example of a parody web site?
a. http://www.whirledbank.org
b. http://www.worldbank.org
5.
Explain the “Nigerian "419" email fraud” scam?
6.
What is the traditional quality control system for work published by academics?
a. Peer review
b. Proof reading
c. Publishing research
7.
You have just been given an assignment. Where should you start looking for resources?
a. A search engine
b. The library web site
8.
What should you do if you are unsure whether a web site you are thinking of using as a
source for you work is genuine?
a.
Use it in your work anyway – your instructor probably will not notice
b.
Look to see whether it is listed on the web site where hoaxes are posted
c.
Leave it out of your work
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CIS 50: Computing and Information Technology
9.
Take a look at the eSharp journal http://www.sharp.arts.gla.ac.uk/
What does the URL suggest about this journal?
a. They are a commercial publisher
b. They are formal academic publisher
c. They are based at a UK university
10.
Take a look at the eSharp journal http://www.sharp.arts.gla.ac.uk/ Is this journal?
a. A popular magazine
b. A trade journal
c. An academic journal
11.
Take a look at the eSharp journal http://www.sharp.arts.gla.ac.uk/
Is this journal peer reviewed?
a. Yes – it is peer reviewed
b. No – it is not peer reviewed
12.
Global Warming. Which of the above sites would you choose to look at first if you were
looking for articles to support your dissertation research?
a. Global Warming - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
b. The EPA Global Warming Kids Page
c. Journal home: Nature
d. Al Gore's Global Warming web site
13.
Global Warming. Which of the above sites would you choose to look at first if you
wanted to help your 12-year-old cousin with his homework?
a. Global Warming
b. Global Warming - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
c. The EPA Global Warming Kids Page
d. Journal home: Nature
14.
What is the URL of the website to check to see who has registered the domain name of a site?
____________________________________________________
15.
Which of these web sites is the real web site for the American White House?
a. http://www.whitehouse.net
b. http://www.whitehouse.org
b. http://www.whitehouse.gov
d. http://www.whitehouse.com
16.
What could happen to a student who is found guilty of plagiarism?
a. The student says that they didn't do it on purpose so they are given a warning by
their tutor not to do it again.
b. They fail that essay completely.
c. They fail that module of their course completely.
d. They are asked to leave their institution.
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CIS 50: Computing and Information Technology
17.
TRUE or FALSE. Copyright. If a web site does not have a copyright symbol © you can
copy information, ideas or images from it for use in your own work and you do not need
to say where you found them.
18.
Which of the following would you consider to be plagiarism?
a. Cutting and pasting a few paragraphs from a web site into your work.
b. Taking information from a web site and using a thesaurus to put it into your own
words (paraphrasing) and then into your work.
c. Stating a piece of information in your work that is common knowledge
d. Putting information from a web site into your work in quotation marks
e. Paraphrasing information from a web site in your work. citing and referencing the source
f. Working together with your friends to find web sites for your essay
19.
Citing and Referencing. What information is needed to give in your reference to a web
site? (check all that apply)
a. The URL of the web site b. The year of publication
c. The name of the web site
d. The name(s) of the author(s)
e. The date you accessed the web site
20.
Citing and Referencing. Which of the following shows a correct example of a reference to
a web site using the Harvard style?
a. WALKER, A., 2002, WTO falls victim to spoof web site. British Broadcasting Corporation
[online]
b. WTO falls victim to spoof web site. British Broadcasting Corporation [online]
c. WALKER, A., 2002, WTO falls victim to spoof web site.
d. WTO falls victim to spoof web site.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2006536.stm >
e. WALKER, A., 2002, WTO falls victim to spoof web site. British Broadcasting Corporation
[online] [cited 5/12/05] < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/2006536.stm >
A short quiz to follow the section called “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
21.
What is the most important reason to use the Internet to find resources for your
academic work?
a. Many sources of authoritative research can be found on the Internet
b. It is fun to use and makes a change from going to the library
c. All the information you find on the Internet will be more up-to-date than other resources
22.
Which of the following Internet resources is most likely to contain peer-reviewed articles?
a. personal homepage
b. An online scholarly journal
c. An online newspaper
23.
TRUE or FALSE: The Internet has a standard system of quality control.
24.
Which one of the following statements about the Internet is true?
a. All online articles must be peer-reviewed.
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CIS 50: Computing and Information Technology
b. A Web author must be an authority on their subject to publish online.
c. Information found on the Internet may not be current.
d. Once information has been posted on the Internet it cannot be altered or removed
25.
TRUE or FALSE. Using a search engine will make sure you find all the available literature
in your subject.
A short quiz to follow the section called “Detective work”
26.
How can you avoid wasting time when searching the Internet?
a. Always use the fastest search engine.
b. Make sure you read all the Web pages as quickly as you can.
c. Be clear about your purpose and the type of Internet resources you are looking for
before you start.
27.
What do you need to do before you include Internet sources in your academic work?
Choose all that apply.
a. Make sure that the information is from a website that has lots of good graphics and
looks really interesting.
b. Examine the content of the site very carefully.
c. Look at the credibility of the source.
d. Look at the location of the resource.
28.
Which two of the following are good tips for checking your sources?
a. Do a search on the author's name on Google.
b. Call any premium rate numbers you find listed on the site.
c. Look for statements of authorship.
d. Write to any Post Office Box numbers you find listed on the site.
29.
Which of the following codes represent academic or educational institutions?
a) .ac
b) .co
c) .org
d) .edu
Submit your Answers automatically through the class website on Blackboard
1. Logon to the class website on Blackboard: http://clpccd.blackboard.com using your
username/password
2. Select your class: CIS 50 Sec DE1 or : CIS 50 Sec DE2
3. Click Assignments section
4. Click Sound Bytes and Active HelpDesk: SUBMIT YOUR ANSWERS folder
5. Click HW3b: Internet Detective. When asked, Take Assessment Now? Click Yes.
Submit your answers. Note, the order of the questions is randomly generated; they will
not be in any particular order. When done, click submit. This is the same process as
taking a quiz. However, unlike a quiz, you can submit your answers multiple times. Only
your last submission score is recorded.
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