The Electronic Researcher

For this activity you are required to be an electronic researcher and gather information about what our government does to manage the Australian Economy. The basic questions you will be trying to answer are what do various Government departments and Agencies do and why do they do it. Secondly the information you gather for this exercise will be put into a database which other economics students will use in order to complete Cat's and work requirements. Thus it is important your name is attached to the database form you will be required to fill out. This is so other students may request assistance and clarification about your entry. Finally be prepared to present your finding to the class for a short debriefing activity.

(1) Go to the Government Institutions page. Scan the list of departments and agencies available. Pick one of interest you. Please read the comments on commonly used Internet terms, this will help you find the information you are seeking. Secondly note that the list is organized is such way that agencies and departments which contain information directly relevant to the course are at the top.

(2) Go to the site you have selected.

(3) Sift through the material on this site. If you look carefully you will find summaries in the site of all the information you require. Use this to complete the attached database entry form below.

(4) Finally summarize the data you have found and present this briefly to the class.

(5) Hand in your database form to your teacher for filing on the school's intranet.

Name of Government Department or Agency.
URL of the site. http://www.
Minister Responsible; include relevant biography and Party.
Key bureaucrats. Who is in Charge ?
Main purpose and economic Functions of the Department or Agency.
Current policies and activities of the Department or Agency.( See the What's new section or Media Release section.)
Economic Data; graphs, statistics and or commentary available on this site. Articles etc.
Topics in Economics this would be relevant to.
Important links to other sites available
How current is the material available ?
Is it easy or hard to understand ?
Is the site well presented ?
Is it easy or hard to find things ?
Are the graphics meaningful ?
Is the site fast or slow ?
Provide a list of search terms; words one could use to find important pieces of information on this site ?
Overall site rating;	Very Good Good, Average, Poor, Very Poor.
Other Comments, which you feel are important. Please note anything which might help someone else get information from the site quickly and easily.
Researcher.	E mail