Internet Guide

The purpose of this guide is to help you increase your fluency in using the Internet as a sociological tool. Fluency means the ability to use the Internet for researching sociology issues, as well as the ability to evaluate Internet information from a sociological perspective. The critical thinking and research skills required by the Internet are different than those required from a trip to your campus library. The focus of this guide will be on how to access information, how to manage large amounts of diverse information, and how to evaluate the quality of that information. You should be able not only to use the Internet effectively, but also be able to evaluate the impact of the Internet, not just on your academic projects, but also on society.

By now, most of you are aware of the vast quantity of information that is "out there" on the Internet. In fact, finding information on a particular topic is seldom a problem faced by most students. The problem is more one of assessing the quality of information and managing the truckload of resources that emerge. How do you go about sorting through the plethora of information, for example, that a search on "domestic violence" would locate? When do you know to say "enough!" and begin to organize and think about the material you have? What are the criteria for evaluating whether the information you found is factual and accurate or whether it is opinion-based? Whether based on empirical evidence or on opinion, how do you go about identifying the social or critical biases inherent in what you have collected? This guide will talk about these issues, and provide you with exercises to learn to identify some of the pitfalls and benefits of Internet research.