Research & Citing Sources — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A website's author tells you who is responsible for the information on the site.
Knowing the author helps you judge whether the information is trustworthy, because an expert or well-known organization is more likely to provide accurate facts than an anonymous writer.
2. The letters "https" in a web address show that the site uses a secure connection.
The "s" in "https" stands for secure, meaning the data sent between your browser and the website is encrypted so others cannot easily intercept it.
3. A website that is trying to persuade you to buy something has a commercial purpose.
A commercial website's main goal is to sell products or services, so the information it presents may be biased toward making its products look good rather than giving balanced facts.
4. A search engine is a tool like Google or Bing that helps you find websites on the internet.
A search engine scans billions of web pages and ranks results based on your keywords, making it the fastest way to find websites related to your research topic.
5. A website that ends in .com is usually a commercial website and may be trying to sell products.
The .com domain originally stood for "commercial," so these sites often belong to businesses. Researchers should check whether a .com site is trying to sell something rather than simply inform.
6. The "About Us" page of a website can help you learn about the organization's mission and goals.
The "About Us" page reveals the organization's mission and goals, which helps you decide if the site has a reason to present biased information or if it aims to educate.
7. When a website was last updated is shown by the date at the bottom of the page.
The date at the bottom of a page shows when the content was last updated. An old date may mean the facts are outdated, which matters for topics that change quickly like science or technology.
8. A library database is a collection of articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals that a library provides.
Library databases gather articles from trusted newspapers, magazines, and journals in one place. Librarians review these collections, making them more reliable than a random internet search.
9. Putting quotation marks around a phrase in a search engine finds pages with that exact phrase.
Quotation marks tell the search engine to look for those words in that exact order, which filters out pages that only contain the words separately and gives you more precise results.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
A website ending in .gov
→ Likely reliable — run by a government agency
Likely unreliable — anyone can edit without review
A website ending in .com with many pop-up ads
→ Likely unreliable — focused on advertising revenue
Likely reliable — run by a government agency
A school library's online database
→ Likely reliable — articles reviewed by librarians
Likely unreliable — focused on advertising revenue
A fan-made wiki with no listed editors
→ Likely unreliable — anyone can edit without review
Likely reliable — articles reviewed by librarians
Correct matches: A website ending in .gov → Likely reliable — run by a government agency; A website ending in .com with many pop-up ads → Likely unreliable — focused on advertising revenue; A school library's online database → Likely reliable — articles reviewed by librarians; A fan-made wiki with no listed editors → Likely unreliable — anyone can edit without review.