Evaluating Sources

By Gina Singh

English 101 – Mrs. SalazarApril 26, 2011

Research SourcesENCYCLOPEDIASProvide short entries/articles for an overview of the topic and its main ideas .

BOOKSGive more information for an in-depth exploration of one or more aspects of the topic.(Example: Case study books, textbooks)

SEARCH TOOL:LIBRARY CATALOG

SEARCH TOOL:PERIODICAL DATABASE

JOURNAL ARTICLESLengthy scholarly research studies on an extremely focused aspect of a subject.

Research SourcesNEWSPAPER ARTICLESVery brief news reports that focus on current events or topics currently in the news.

SEARCH TOOL:PERIODICAL DATABASE

MAGAZINE ARTICLESAs short as encyclopedia articles, but instead of an overview, magazines narrow the focus to one or two specific aspects of a topic.

Types of Resources Scholarly Sources

▪ It has abstract in the beginning▪ It may have a list of keywords▪ Article has a research problem▪ Mentions studies that have addressed the problem in the past▪ Has a purpose statement▪ Has research question and hypothesis▪ Uses qualitative, quantitative or mixed method approach to conduct research▪ Has a conclusion at the end▪ Has a bibliography or reference list at the end

Popular Sources: Magazine articles like Style, Newsweek, Time etc. Newspaper sources: LA Times, Whittier Daily News etc. Primary Sources: Original writings created at the time when the event

occurred. Secondary Sources: Sources that evaluate, summarize, analyze

written by experts from that field after the event has occurred.

Source: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm

Checklist for Evaluating Websites Author: Credentials & professional affiliations Timeframe: Current or past view. What time

period does your topic require? Objectivity : Point of View or Bias Bibliography: Citations and references to other

sources Coverage: Relevance to the assignment. Is the

source too narrow? Too broad? Can you understand it?

Format, Organization, Appearance: Is it Easy to read?

Source: http://libguides.uwb.edu/content.php?pid=103537&sid=778496

Start with the URL

http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm

http:// is the protocol or access method

www.stanford.edu is the domain or host name

.edu is the top level domain~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm is

the directory path folder on the domain computer

Who is the author? Look for an “About Us” link on the page. Is it a personal page? Check for a tilde

(~) in the URL. If you can’t figure out who is responsible

for the page, try truncating the URL:

http://www.stanford.edu/~ccarson/articles/am_left.htm

Lets Practice

Carefully read the following question and then examine the two websites to see which would be the better choice.

Which site would you use?You are writing a research paper about the collapse

of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge for a history class. Which site provides better information about bridge aerodynamics for you and your audience?A. Computational Bridge Aerodynamics

www.bridgeaerodynamicslab.us/index.htm B. Mark Ketchum’s Bridge Aerodynamics Page

www.ketchum.org/wind.htmlC. Both choices are equally good.D. Neither choice appears reliable.

Which site would you use?You are writing a research paper on Sojourner Truth

and want to find verifiable biographical information about her. Which of the following sources would be the better choice?

A. San Antonio College LitWeb

www.alamo.edu/sac/english/bailey/struth.htm

B. Sojourner Truth – African American Historical Figure

http://www.brightmoments.com/blackhistory/nsotrue.htmlC. Both choices are equally good.D. Neither choice appears reliable.

Which site would you use?You are writing an essay exploring the life and work

of Chinua Achebe and want to learn more about Achebe’s views. Which of the following sources would be the better choice?

A. Chinua Achebewww.kirjasto.sci.fi/achebe.htm

B. The Failure Interview: Chinua Achebe by Jason Zasky

failuremag.com/index.php/feature/article/chinua_achebe

C. Both choices are equally good.D. Neither choice appears reliable.

Which site would you use?You are writing a research paper about theologian

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was executed by the Nazis for his opposition to Hitler. Which of the following sources would be a better place to get an overview of his life and work?

A. Bonhoeffer www.pbs.org/bonhoeffer

B. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/bonhoefferC. Both choices are equally good.D. Neither choice appears reliable.

Which site would you use?You are writing a research paper exploring the pros

and cons of using “marriage promotion” as a means to decrease poverty and improve families’ well-being. Which source below would be a more reliable source of statistics? Be prepared to explain your reasoning.

A. The Heritage Foundationwww.heritage.org/Research/Family/cda0306.cfm

B. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

www.fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/C. Both choices are equally good.D. Neither choice appears reliable.

Website Evaluation Checklist Who is responsible for website? Check the URL (Uniform Resource Locator or

web site address) because it may the name and type of organization sponsoring the webpage. E.g. edu, com, museum, gov, net.

Check for author of the website: Credentials, contact address, about link.

Reason for webpage: Its purpose Determine the origin of the document.

Source: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/rusa/sections/history/resources/pubs/usingprimarysources/index.cfm#evaluating

* Thanks to Stephanie Wells for sharing some of her slides.

Additional Help

For more on primary & secondary sources:

http://lib1.bmcc.cuny.edu/help/sources.htmlSpotting Bias in news:

http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/broadcast_news/bw_bias_in_the_news.cfm

Tania Shabelnik Libguide: http://libguides.riohondo.edu/evaluatingwebsites

Start Research from the library homepage

FIND BOOKS

FIND JOURNAL, MAGAZINE,

AND NEWSPAPER

ARTICLES

FIND CONTROVERSIAL

TOPICS

For Off Campus Users: Access Rio Step 1

Click on Off Campus Users

Accessing Access Rio Step 2

Access Rio

Where to Search?

For Books: Library Catalog http://library.riohondo.edu/ For Scholarly Articles: Databases: Proquest, Gale Reference

Library. Off Campus Users: Access Rio For Controversial Topics: Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context,

Issues and Controversies Check out Controversial Topics Books Link on the library

homepage http://library.riohondo.edu/ For Historical Books : Google Books at http://books.google.com/ For Statistics data & charts: Social Science Database For population stats: US Census Bureau database