Sources, Credibility, and Citation

 When you research (verb), you locate reliable information from a variety of sources. The word research (noun) also describes the information found from the search.

What do you already know? Source Credible Citation

 Primary ◦ An account or document created by someone with firsthand knowledge or experience of an event. Letters, journal entries, blogs, eyewitness accounts, speeches, and interviews are all primary sources.  Secondary ◦ Documents supplied and compiled by people who do not have firsthand knowledge of an event. History textbooks, book reviews, documentary films, websites, and most magazine and newspaper articles are secondary sources.

 Definition: 1.capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement. 2.worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness.  Credibility is important! ◦ If your research is flawed, so is your argument. ◦ If you use credible sources, you can believe them, and your readers can believe you. Brainpop

 Most books you find in library nonfiction are credible.  Most large newspapers are credible. ◦ New York Times ◦ Charlotte Observer ◦ Washington Post  Scholarly journals are usually credible. ◦ JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)  Most government publications are credible.  Reputable organizations are usually credible. ◦ American Cancer Society ◦ World Health Organization ◦ American Red Cross  Most information from colleges is credible. ◦.edu websites

 You can automatically rule out: ◦ Wikipedia ◦ Myspace ◦ Geocities ◦ Blogs ◦ Friendster ◦ Personal sites

 The internet offers the BEST information on MANY topics.  The internet offers the WORST information on MOST topics.  You can use internet resources for research papers, but you have to be careful.

 Ways to tell a credible internet source: ◦ Looks professional  The website doesn’t look like it was made by a 4-year- old with a crayon  All or most links are working ◦ Information offered is easy to verify  The website offers links to where they found their information  The sources of their information is also credible

◦ It is easy to contact the owners of the website for more information or to ask questions ◦ The site is up to date  Information from 1991 is not listed as “recent” ◦ There are no errors  The site uses proper spelling and grammar ◦ The website is appropriate  There is no inappropriate language, graphics, or photos

 These guidelines are not 100%  When in doubt, ask for help from a teacher or librarian  If you’re still not sure, DON’T use it  Be careful with.com sites ◦ All.com sites are trying to sell something, which means they are all biased in some way ◦ Sites with lots of advertisements are usually less credible

Domain Suffix Description.comStands for “commercial.” Web sites with this suffix are created to make a profit from their Internet services. Typically these Web sites sell goods or services..orgStands for “organization.” Primarily used by nonprofit groups..netStands for “network.” Used by Internet service providers or Web-hosting companies..eduStands for “education.” Used by major universities or educational organizations and institutions..govStands for “government.” Used by local, state, and federal government sites.

It’s not as hard as it used to be.

 When you cite or provide a citation, you are following the practice of quoting or referring to sources of textual evidence.  By citing research or your evidence you avoid the mistake of plagiarism, which is using or imitating another person’s words or ideas without giving proper credit.

 If you use ANY information from a source in your paper, you must CITE it. ◦ Sources Page ◦ In-Text Citations ◦ Dr. Eric Lee, of Oak Orthopedics in Frankfort, said, “…………”

 Books, articles, and websites are all cited differently  The more information you have, the better  When you find a source that you think you can use, you need to make sure you have several things

 Basic bibliographic information includes: ◦ Author ◦ Title ◦ Source ◦ Date ◦ medium of publication. ◦ You might not always be able to find all of this information, but get as much as you can.

 Go to Son of Citation Machine  Click on “MLA” at the top left of the page.  Click on the type of source you want to cite.  Fill in the boxes for your source.  Click “Submit”. Voila! Your citation is written.

 You used information from a webpage titled Time for Kids. The webpage’s copyright date is The organization that hosts the site is Time. The title of the article is “Puppy Love.” You visited the site on April 22, 2015.

 What information do you need that is missing from this description? ◦ The website address to find the article. ◦ love/ love/233456

If you don’t ask, you’ll never know.