1. Primary school
2. Secondary school
3. Tertiary school
4. Format: Classroom

This course aims to equip participants with the effective skills in using Internet as a valuable research tool. Participants will be introduced to search strategies and various search tools besides Google and Yahoo! Participants will also be taught critical thinking skills such as how to evaluate information from the Internet, thereby enabling them to integrate authoritative sources into their reports.

Learning objective

By the end of this course, the learner will be able to:  

• Identify keywords, learn to apply appropriate search strategies and construct search statements
• Differentiate between various search tools, and learn how to use the tools effectively
• Evaluate websites and acknowledge or cite sources used

Course Outline

Module 1: Internet Search Strategies

• Boolean searching
• Phrase searching
• Search statements
• Field searching

Module 2: Internet Search Tools

• Subject directories & subject guides
• Search engines vs. subject directories
• Meta-search engines

Module 3: Evaluating websites

• Deconstructing URLs
• 5 criteria for evaluating websites
• Type of web pages

Module 4: Acknowledging websites

• Why must we acknowledge websites?
• Using citation styles e.g. MLA and APA