JISC

Internet Detective, a free online tutorial designed to help students develop the critical thinking required for their Internet research, was re-launched today.

Developed by the RDN (Resource Discovery Network) Virtual Training Suite, the tutorial offers practical advice on evaluating the quality of websites and highlights the need for care when selecting online information sources to inform university or college work.

Co-author Emma Place said:

"Students are increasingly turning to the Internet to find information for their coursework or assignments, but they can be naive in the sources they choose. There is concern among lecturers and librarians that students often degrade their work by referencing inappropriate information sources and by failing to use the key scholarly materials that they should be using."

The tutorial adopts a film noir detective metaphor to offer a light-hearted guide to developing Internet skills to help with studying and research and takes around an hour to complete.

Internet Detective was originally developed in 1998 with funding from the European Union and was translated into a number of different languages by national libraries and research organizations. The original version was withdrawn in 2005, but there was a high demand for its return, as issues of information quality and overload on the Internet persist.

The tutorial is the first new initiative from Intute (currently known as the RDN), which will be launched by JISC on 13 July 2006 as a national guide to the best of the Web for education and research.
To access the free tutorial, please go to: Internet Detective