# Web Search and Evaluation

Chicken Little would never have known fame in Joyce Valenza’s world or in the University of California’s Berkeley Library. [The Berkeley Library's "Evaluating Internet Sources"](https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources) and [Valenza’s 2016 “Truth, truthiness, triangulation: A new literacy toolkit for a ‘post-truth’ world”](http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/11/26/truth-truthiness-triangulation-and-the-librarian-way-a-news-literacy-toolkit-for-a-post-truth-world/) walks readers through the important, discerning steps for verifying media/news sources in an effort to combat fake news. Valenza embeds great resources for checking veracity including FactCheck.org, [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/), and [Verification Handbook](https://verificationhandbook.com/). Similarly the Berkeley Library guides people through the source assessment steps. Berkeley also differentiates between scholarly and popular sources, and between primary and secondary sources, including where/how to get your hands on both.

For example, Berkeley would suggest using [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=&title=Special%3ASearch), [Google](https://www.google.com/) or [Google Advanced Search](https://www.google.com/advanced_search) to get background information on Northeastern and answer the following questions:
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## Google Search
**What would you query to see how many pages on the English Wikipedia site contain the exact phrase “Northeastern University”?**

On Google:
In the search bar, type: ["Northeastern University" site:en.wikipedia.org](https://www.google.com/search?as_q=&as_epq=Northeastern+University&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=en.wikipedia.org&as_occt=any&as_filetype=&tbs=#ip=1)

On Wikipedia:
Type [“Northeastern University” into the “exactly this text” on Wikipedia Advanced search](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Northeastern+University&title=Special%3ASearch&profile=advanced&fulltext=1&advancedSearch-current=%7B%22fields%22%3A%7B%22phrase%22%3A%22Northeastern+University%22%7D%7D&ns0=1), make sure to uncheck "articles" filter to see all results (33,416)
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**If Google showed the number of results, what are they?**

About 5650 results.
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**What would you query to see web pages about the skate fish without mention of the phrase “ice rink”?**

Type [“Ice” skate fish “rink”](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E2%80%9CIce%E2%80%9D+skate+fish+%E2%80%9Crink%E2%80%9D&oq=%E2%80%9CIce%E2%80%9D+skate+fish+%E2%80%9Crink%E2%80%9D&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABgPGBYYHjINCAIQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAMQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAQQABiGAxiABBiKBTINCAUQABiGAxiABBiKBdIBBzQ0OWowajSoAgCwAgA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)
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**What would you query to see web pages about the Northeastern Huskies from the first day of 2001 through the last day of 2002?**

Search “Northeastern Huskies”, then click “Tools”; “Any time”; “Custom range”, beside “From:” I would type “1/1/01”; beside “To:” I would type "12/31/02".

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**Find me the top image of the exact phrase [“penguin pair” with a Creative Commons usage right](https://www.google.com/search?q=penguin%20pair&tbm=isch&hl=en&tbs=il:cl&sa=X&ved=0CAAQ1vwEahcKEwjQ87GktPKDAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg&biw=1217&bih=598).**

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## Web Credibility
**Find a web page of questionable credibility and apply some of the criteria discussed by Valenza and Berkley Library.**

[Latest and most trending Hollywood Gossip 2019 - News Examiner](https://newsexaminer.net/celebrity-news/latest-and-most-trending-hollywood-gossip-2019/)

Following [**Berkeley’s**](https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/evaluating-resources) guided questions, I noted:

Author Jimmy Rustling’s background is described with strange and unnecessary descriptors: “<font color="limegreen">Born at an early age</font>, Jimmy Rustling has found solace and comfort knowing that his humble actions have made this <font color="limegreen">multiverse</font> a better place for every man, woman and child <font color="limegreen">ever known to exist.</font>”

Rustling’s other publications seem to have a flippant bend: “How to Get a Job as a Lifeguard”, “Serena Williams Biography – Body Measurements, Age, Breast, Weight, Height 2022”

[**Valenza’s**](http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/11/26/truth-truthiness-triangulation-and-the-librarian-way-a-news-literacy-toolkit-for-a-post-truth-world/) recommended FactCheck.org confirms that the fourteen Peabody Awards and handful of Pulitzer Prizes won by Jimmy Rustling are not real: “No one by the name of ‘Rustling’ has won a Pulitzer or Peabody award.”
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## Wikipedia Evaluation
**Evaluate the Wikipedia entry on Joseph Reagle. A version of the Joseph Reagle” Wikipedia article stated (a) he worked at the World Wide Web Consortium and (b) his book Good Faith Collaboration was “bestselling.” How do these claims relate to the policy of Wikipedia:Verifiability? Would you suggest any changes to the page? According to its history, when was this page first created (i.e., the oldest version)?**

These claims are false because a) Joseph Reagle was a member, not an employee of the World Wide Web Consortium, and b) Joseph Reagle’s book, Good Faith Collaboration was not a bestseller. These pieces of misinformation would not have been added had the collaborator verified the claims with a previously published source. I can not suggest any changes to the Joseph Reagle Wikipedia page. The page was created on August 1, 2011.