Researching Physics

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Researching Physics

• Web-based Research

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Learning objectives

• Evaluate websites for reliability, level and
  bias.
• Reference websites to allow another person to
  find the same information.

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Why carry out literature-based scientific
research?

• To find out what is known and what remains to be
  discovered about a topic.
• To stay up to date with research in a particular
  field.
• To find information to help develop new ideas and
  design new experiments.

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Finding out what is known about a topic

• Scientists use a number of communication methods
• conference presentations
• published articles
• other communications
• websites
• blogs
• manuals
• videos, etc.
• Which of these do you think is/are most reliable?

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Finding out what is known about a topic

• Scientists use a number of communication methods
• conference presentations
• published articles
• other communications
• websites
• blogs
• manuals
• videos, etc.

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Published articles

• Scientific articles are often published in
• science magazines (e.g. New Scientist, Focus)
• scientific journals (e.g. Science, Nature)
• Scientific journal articles are peer reviewed.
  Peer-reviewed journals are reliable but
  expensive. Scientific magazines are more widely
  available.
• The most likely source of scientific
  information in school will be the internet.

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Internet research

• The internet is a convenient source of
  information, but it can be difficult to establish
  reliability.
• The world wide web is the fastest growing area of
  the internet. It is a collection of documents on
  thousands of computers worldwide.
• The web is not controlled. Anyone can publish
  almost anything on it you must decide if the
  information you retrieve is reliable and valid.

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Evaluating website information

• When using information from a website, you should
  consider the following key questions
• Who does the site belong to?
• Why was it written?
• When was it written and most
• recently updated?

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Who does the site belong to?

• The domain gives the type of organisation and the
  country of origin of the website
• .gov - government body
• .ac - UK educational institution
• .edu - US education institution
• .org - non-profit organisation
• .co or .com - UK or US commercial site
• .uk - United Kingdom
• .us - United States
• .au - Australia

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Why was the site written?

• To inform or explain purely factual sites, eg
  government or university.
• To sell commercial sites which sell a product
  (may be disguised).
• To persuade or indoctrinate sites designed to
  convert you to a particular point of view, eg
  some charities and religious organisations.

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Referencing

• In Higher Physics, you must clearly state the
  source of your information.
• Make sure you write down the correct web address
  when referencing a website or highlight the
  address and use copy/paste.
• Check the address yourself by typing it into the
  browser.

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Author

• Can you find out the name of the author?
• Is there information about the author?
• Is it clear that an institution or university or
  organisation sponsored the website (check the
  domain)?

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Currency (date)

• Is the date the website was put on the internet
  present?
• Is an update or revision date present?

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Level

• Is the website intended for a general or a
  scientific audience?
• In what way is the topic explored at a suitable
  level for Higher Physics?
• Are there any aspects or vocabulary beyond the
  level expected for Higher Physics?

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Purpose

• Is the purpose of the site stated (to persuade,
  inform, explain, sell)?

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Bias

• Is the information given and/or the views
  expressed biased?

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Accuracy

• Are the sources of the information listed in a
  bibliography or referenced to linked websites?