When researching about the environment, you want to make sure you have reliable and trustworthy websites. You don't want to put bad data in your project!
Look for the following CAPOW criteria:
Currency: choose articles/websites with current information. Old stuff is outdated and the data could be wrong.
Authority: is the author or publisher well known? BBC? Scientific Magazine? Don't use blogs! You are likely to read biased opinions.
Purpose: is the author trying to inform you or persuade you? The information they choose to put in their writing will change depending on the author's purpose.
Objectivity: is the author telling all sides of the story? Is she being fair and balanced?
Writing Style: are there spelling mistakes? If the writing is sloppy, then the facts are likely to be sloppy too.
Tips for searching:
1. Don't use sentences. Use keywords instead. Tell Google the words you are looking for not the question. You'll get better results.
global warming
causes
consequences
2. Use BOOLEAN operators to make your search results more relevant.
"global warming" causes AND consequences
sites:kids
-wiki
-blog
3. Look for sites domains using .edu or .org
4. Brainstorm all the words. Writers use many terms to discuss similar things.
global warming, climate change, ozone depletion
causes, reasons,
consequences, results, impact,
