Step 1: Finding a site

Google Advanced

Google Scholar articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities locate the complete document through your library or on the web

Cobb Mackinvia Paid subscriptions for scholarly journals like…

Boolean Operators What are they? When to use? AND NOT OR Google Advanced Database (Galileo, Ebsco, etc.) searches

CTRL + F

No HOME page link? Truncate the URL Delete characters in the address line up to the next slash mark to see if a main page offers more information about who is responsible for publishing the page you are interested in. Go from: http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer/smith.htm http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages http://www.statecollege.edu/history http://www.statecollege.edu

URLs as clues to content .com commercial .org non-profit organization .edu educational institution .gov U.S. government .ac UK academic .net network

Vetting a Site

Who? credentials? education? experience? affiliation? Does the author’s experience really qualify him or her as an expert? Does he or she offer first-hand credibility? (For instance, a Vietnam veteran or a witness to Woodstock?) Who actually published this page? Is this a personal page or is it an endorsed part of a site belonging to a major institution? (Clues pointing to a personal page: ~ tilde, %, users, members)

What? Can facts, statistics, or other information be verified through other sources? Based on your knowledge, does the information seem accurate? Is the information inconsistent with information you learned from other sources? Is the information second hand? Has it been altered? Do there appear to be errors on the page (spelling, grammar, facts)?

When? When was this information created? When was it last revised? Are these dates meaningful in terms of your information needs? Has the author of the page stopped maintaining it? (Be suspicious of undated material.)

Where? Did the author bother to document his or her sources? Were those references reliable and scholarly? Are those sources real? Have you or your librarian heard of or been able to verify them?

Recognizing bias is important. Why? Does the source present a particular view or bias? Is the page selling a product? Was the information found in a paid placement or sponsored result from the search engine? Information is seldom neutral. Recognizing bias is important.

But what if I can’t find any author information?

Look for credibility clues! Words and phrases to look for: About us Who Am I FAQs Company Information Our Staff This info is usually found on the HOME page Clues often appear on the top or bottom of a page, or in menu bars and frames. These sections often contain authorship clues! 17

Still more credibility clues If you have an author’s name but no further information about credentials, Search the name in quotation marks in a search engine or online database On the Web, include words like profile, resume, or C.V. (curriculum vitae—an academic resume) to narrow your name search E-mail the author (If you have no information other than an e-mail link, write a polite e-mail asking for more information.)

Publishing

Publishing

Publishing

Publishing

Detecting Bias Diction What is included What is excluded Images

Original Records from the event Primary v. Secondary Original Records from the event After the Fact Photograph Video Eyewitness testimony Textbook Report by someone NOT there

Plagiarism Taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as your own Consequences AHS: Zero and office referral College: Expulsion Career: Lawsuit How to Avoid: Cite your sources!

Are there any times I DON’T need to cite? Info is so general it’s common knowledge. Nobody would need to look it up: George Washington was the first US President. The Earth revolves around the sun. When the idea is your own

How to Cite Your Sources and Avoid Plagiarism Step 1: Create a Works Cited or Bibliography page Step 2: Create in-text citations (aka parenthetical citations)

Step 1: Create a Works Cited or Bibliography page Works Cited page = the last page of a research paper that lists all the sources you mentioned in the paper Bibliography = the last page of a research paper that lists all the sources you used in your research - even those you didn’t mention in the paper Either way, you must list the information about the source in MLA format

Step 2: Create in-text citations Author’s last name and page number(s) of quote/paraphrase must appear in the text Romantic poetry is characterized by the “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (Wordsworth 263). Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a “spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263).

Citing Quote with No Author If no author is identified, use the title of the source—be sure to include proper punctuation. High school students admit they even feel the pressure to swear in some peer groups in order to “not get dissed” (“Profane Pressure”).

MLA MLA = Modern Language Association Citation = information about the source in “Code” form Which is quicker? This book was written by Joe Jones in 2012. The name of the book is Being Cool, and it was published by Kickin’ Publishing which is located is Atlanta. Jones, Joe. Being Cool. Atlanta: Kickin’ Publishing, Inc., 2012.

Answer: ALL of them Which to cite? Quote Word for word Paraphrase Reword but same length Summarize Reword and shorten Answer: ALL of them

What about Wikipedia? Who can edit and create articles? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fa0Nmv9qsd8 Who can edit and create articles? In order for articles to remain, they must Cite _____________ Present material _______ and without ________ But who checks up on the articles?

Let’s review: BEFORE you start perusing a website for information, what should you do? Besides his/her name, what do you need to know about the author of a website? If the author’s name is not the page at which you are looking, what should you do?