Michelle Houston

Micromodules Assignment
1. Author:
The information discussed included finding and investigating the author, how to further search
for authors credentials, truncating the URL, and considering how current the information is. It is
important to understand who the author is, what their educational background is, their
experience and occupation along with their reputation to add credibility to the information they
provide. I learned why the strategy of truncating the URL can be useful during a search. I have
used the strategy in the past but now have a more clear and in-depth understanding of the
concept along with information that can be obtained. After reflecting on information obtained
in this exercise, I will be more conscientious of investigating the authors credentials.
2. Bias:
The definition of bias as provided in this exercise is the language of the document is extreme, all
or nothing connotations. Bias appeals to emotion, oversimplifies or overgeneralizes information,
and has limited viewpoint of the subject. We can determine bias by determining if there is a
political view, the individual or organization will benefit financially, the views are overly positive
or presented scornfully and if propaganda is present. I feel that I have room to reflect and
improve my analytical skills to determine biased material and how it impacts my work.
3. Evidence:
Considerations to make when determining that evidence supports information provided include
utilizing references and cross-referencing with other sources. As discussed, this can be through
personal experience and observation, statistical data, examples, analogies, informed opinion,
historical documentation, and experimental evidence. I learned that the triangulation of data is
an important aspect in which three sources indisputably support the viewpoint of the website or
author. In the future, I will search for minimum of three sources to document and support my
own conclusions.
4. Expertise:
Expertise is defined as observable accomplishment. The authors skill in his or her field is better
than most. Searching for information in peer reviewed articles can give indication of how others
respect the expertise of an author. Strategies that I can utilize to determine an individuals
expertise include finding 2 authors with differing opinions, directly contacting the individual, ask
a librarian and by searching in sites such as Google Answers. It is important for me to cite
experts which will give my own work credibility.

5. Site Publisher:
I learned the importance of understanding who publishes a website. Understanding this
information determines the informations/sites authenticity and gives authority to the subject
and its authors. Utilizing publisher information allows me to determine the reliability and
position of the authors or organization, if they are established, and whether or not they are a
sponsorship or providing webspace. I learned the difference between sponsorship versus
webspace provider. It is important that contact information is utilized to obtain further
information on the subject.
6. Query:
Query is the method by which we search for information, the search process. It was interesting
to learn how search engines utilize sentence structure. I learned that Hakia understands an
entire sentence while many other search engines utilize essential keywords. I want to
experiment further and increase my searching capabilities more by using the symbols, +, -, ll,
site:, and to further define and enhance my searching capabilities.
7. Keywords:
I recognize that my primary search method is through a keyword search. Strategies I learned
through this exercise was to create a keyword list prior to the actual search, use a thesaurus,
consider spelling/meaning, and using hyponyms, hypernyms, heteronyms, homonyms and
contranyms. Full text, field searching and how search engines manage capitalization were new
concepts that I learned. I understand that I can reflect and improve on my ability to find
information that is relevant in my search for knowledge and information.

This reflection was informative and useful. I gained strategies to implement to improve my
search for information more effectively and efficiently. The new knowledge, reflection and
practice manipulating the information gives me confidence in finding and understanding
accurate information through my searching capabilities. I am confident that I can improve my
skills as well as the skills of my students. It is important to analyze information for accuracy,
credibility and authenticity.