Databases vs. Websites
Database vs. Internet
|Library databases get their information from professionals or experts in the field.||Websites may be written by anyone regardless of expertise.|
|Library databases contain published works where facts are checked for accuracy.||Websites may have content which has not been checked or evaluated by anyone.|
|Library databases are easy to cite in a bibliography and may create the citation for you.||Websites often don't provide all the information necessary to complete a citation.|
|Library databases can help you narrow your topic or suggest related subjects.||Websites often aren't organized to meet students' research needs.|
|Library databases are updated frequently and include the date of publication.||Websites may not indicate when a page is updated and may include outdated information.|
From Hennepin County Library
Which website gives true facts about MN?
READ THIS FIRST
True Facts about Minnesota
Minnesota is known as the Land of Ten Thousand Lakes, but no oceans.
They have to shovel snow in the winter and swat mosquitoes in the summer
Minnesotans enjoy the outdoors year-round. In the summer, they flock to the state’s forests and lakes to boat, canoe, whitewater raft, bike, hike, camp, and hunt. Anglers (people who fish) pull 35,000 pounds of fish from Minnesota lakes each year. During the winter, Minnesotans don’t let cold weather keep them indoors. They ski, snowmobile, ice fish, and ice skate. They also take hockey seriously.
The MN city of International Falls is considered the coldest place in the continental United States with
an average annual temperature of 36°F (2°C).
Testing Fake Websites
How to Evaluate a Website
How can you tell if a website has valid, true information written by an expert on the topic?
One way is to check the URL address:
Sites to be sceptical or wary
org - organization
com - commercial
net - network
gov - government
edu - education, university, college
mil - military
Assignment - Which are true factual websites and which are not?
Test the websites below to determine if they give true factual information or not? Be ready to state why or why not.