I picked a researched topic ….Billie Eilish

Question

Select a Search Engine
Once you have picked your topic, type it into the search engine of your choice.
Answer the Following Questions:
1. What search engine did you choose? What was the reason that you decided to choose this search engine?
2. What did you type into the search engine? What made you decide to type this in? Was your search successful the first time, or did you have to change what you typed into the search engine?
Find Three Websites
Select three websites on your topic. Once you have selected your websites, have each site open on separate tabs of your computer so you can easily jump between the three sites.
Answer the Following Questions:
1. What are the three websites that you selected?
2. How did you select the websites? Was it the title that drew you in? Did you look and see what date the website was published or updated on? What page of the search results were your sites found on?
Browse each Website
Go through each of the sites to see if they are reliable.
Answer the Following Questions:
1. Is there an author(s) listed? Where did you find the author? If you were not able to find an author, what are some steps you can try to find out who created these sites? What can you assume if there is no way to find out who wrote these articles?
2. What was the date that these sites were updated or published? What does the date say about the information?
3. Are there links available on the sites? Do those links work?
4. What domain do the websites have? What does the domain tell you about the website?
5. Is the information you find on all three sites similar? Are there any differences? If one of the sites has different information than the other sites, what might that tell you?
6. What other items did you check on to see if these sites are reliable? Do the sites end up checking out as reliable? Would you use the information from these sites on a research project about your topic?

Answer each question in a 6th grader’s response

Answer 1

Sure! Here’s how a 6th grader might respond to these questions about researching Billie Eilish:

Select a Search Engine

1. What search engine did you choose? What was the reason that you decided to choose this search engine?

   • I chose Google because it's really popular and I’ve used it before to find information for school. It usually has a lot of results and I can find what I need quickly.

2. What did you type into the search engine? What made you decide to type this in? Was your search successful the first time, or did you have to change what you typed into the search engine?

   • I typed in “Billie Eilish biography”. I decided to type this because I want to learn more about her life and career. My search was successful the first time, and I found a lot of good information right away!

Find Three Websites

1. What are the three websites that you selected?

   • The three websites I selected are:
     • Biography.com
     • Rolling Stone
     • Wikipedia

2. How did you select the websites? Was it the title that drew you in? Did you look and see what date the website was published or updated on? What page of the search results were your sites found on?

   • I selected these websites because they looked trustworthy and had Billie Eilish's name in the title. I checked the dates, and they were all pretty recent, which is good. I found them all on the first page of Google search results.

Browse each Website

1. Is there an author(s) listed? Where did you find the author? If you were not able to find an author, what are some steps you can try to find out who created these sites? What can you assume if there is no way to find out who wrote these articles?

   • Yes, all three sites had authors listed. I found the author’s name at the top or bottom of the articles. If there was no author, I could look for an "About" section or check for contact info. If there's no info on who wrote it, I might think the site isn't very trustworthy.

2. What was the date that these sites were updated or published? What does the date say about the information?

   • The dates were all within the last year. This means the information is likely current and not outdated, which is very important when learning about someone who may be in the news a lot.

3. Are there links available on the sites? Do those links work?

   • Yes, there were links on all three sites, and I clicked on a few. They worked, and some linked to other articles and sources about Billie Eilish, which is helpful.

4. What domain do the websites have? What does the domain tell you about the website?

   • The domains are .com for Biography.com and Rolling Stone, and Wikipedia uses .org. The .coms are probably for profit and ads, while .org means it's for organization, which might mean it's more neutral and factual, but can also have user-generated content.

5. Is the information you find on all three sites similar? Are there any differences? If one of the sites has different information than the other sites, what might that tell you?

   • The information was mostly similar about Billie Eilish's career and achievements, but Wikipedia had a bit more detail about her personal life. If one site had a lot of different info, it might mean that it wasn't as reliable or that it was presenting an opinion.

6. What other items did you check on to see if these sites are reliable? Do the sites end up checking out as reliable? Would you use the information from these sites on a research project about your topic?

   • I also looked at the website design and checked for advertisements. The sites looked professional and weren’t super cluttered with ads. Yes, I think they are reliable, and I would definitely use the information from these sites for a research project about Billie Eilish.