Author Detective

Introducing the third revision in our series of Investigative Searching tutorials: AUTHOR.

No need to rely on the old Flash files any longer. There are 11 challenges in this set, from finding the name of an author to evaluating the author's credibility.

Get started here:  https://21cif.com/tutorials/evaluation/author/author-1

Publisher Detective

Just released: Publisher Detective

Try it for free for a limited time. Nine exercises to help searchers track down and evaluate publishers of online information. Helps in the hunt for credible news.

This replaces the flash version archived on our site.

https://21cif.com/tutorials/evaluation/publisher/publisher-1

New Tutorial: Date Detective

In an effort to replace old Flash tutorials, we've undertaken the redesign of several interactive MicroModule tutorials. The first one is the DATE tutorial--how to track down publication dates of digital sources.

There are 10 activities in this set that start with determining the best date to cite to locating hard-to-find publication dates using queries, browsing and metadata.  30 points are possible. A score that demonstrates investigative competency is a 25 or higher.

Give it a try! How strong are your investigative skills?

https://21cif.com//tutorials/evaluation/date/

Needle and Haystack

For a limited time, try out a new feature: Needle and Haystack.

These four search challenges are based on several challenges recently posted in this blog. The format includes clues that lead the way to the solutions.

Try them out and leave any feedback you want.

https://21cif.com/INTERNETSEARCHCHALLENGE/challenges/needle/haystack

The subscription version will track user's scores and include additional challenges.

Haunted Search Challenge

At this time of year, scary attractions abound: yard displays, haunted houses, horror film festivals. It's also possible to find creepy hiking trails open year-round.

Where can you find this year-round haunted trail?

Use these clues to locate the name of the park, all associated with this allegedly haunted location.

Haunted
Trail
Park
Think of keywords associated with Halloween

Once you locate a likely place, verify you found the right one
by reading its history of mysteries that go back well over a century.

Squirrelly Challenge

Here's how Merriam Webster's online dictionary uses Squirrelly in a sentence:

It was the end of the school year, when all the kids get a little squirrelly

It's easy to find what the word means. But what causes squirrels to behave this way?

Help us build this search challenge. Send the URL of an authoritative article or document that provides a clue to wizard@21cif.com

Acorn Challenge

Try this search challenge.

Inside an acorn's tough leathery shell is a thin coating layer that sticks to the nut meat. What is that coating called?

Submit your solution and how you found it here: wizard@21cif.com