Research Skills Notes

Sources A primary source is an original, firsthand account. Examples: Autobiography Eyewitness testimony Letters Speeches Interviews

Sources A secondary source is a secondhand account from someone who was not directly involved in the events he or she has written about. Examples: Biography Encyclopedias Magazine articles Textbooks

Evaluating Sources To decide if a source is good to use in your paper, use the CRAP Test and ask the following questions:

Currency When was it written or updated? Is the information current enough for your topic?

Reliability Are there references given for information on the site? Is the content primarily fact or opinion? Is the information balanced or biased?

Authority Who wrote it? Who is the publisher or sponsor? Is there evidence that the author or organization is an expert on this subject?

Purpose/Point of View What is the purpose of the site? (information, persuasion, advertisement, etc.) What is the website domain extension? .gov = government .edu = education (universities/colleges/schools) .org = organization (often non-profit) .com & .net = commercial (sales, business networks) Who is the intended audience?

Incorporating Ideas From Research There are three ways to incorporate the ideas of other writers into your work, but all three require that you give credit to (cite) your source: direct quotation – use quotation marks to indicate the exact words paraphrase – restate the author’s ideas in your own words summary – state the author’s main idea

Avoiding Plagiarism When conducting research, you must be careful to give credit for any ideas that are not your own. Presenting someone else’s ideas, research, or opinion as your own is plagiarism, the equivalent of academic stealing, or fraud. When you choose to use someone else’s ideas or work to support your view, be sure to credit (cite) the material.

Crediting Sources When you credit a source, you acknowledge where you found your information and give your readers the details necessary for locating the source themselves. A bibliography provides a listing of all the resources you consulted during your research. A works cited list includes the sources you have referenced in your paper.

Formatting Works Cited List In high school, we used MLA formatting for papers and citations. The Works Cited list is the last page of a research paper or slide of a powerpoint. Each entry in the Works Cited list represents a separate source you used in your research. Entries in a Works Cited list are listed in alphabetical order. Try using http://citationmachine.net/ to format your citations.