1. Chapter 21 Evaluating Sources

2. Early Goals of Reading Thesis-seeking exploratory state Achieve a basic understanding of your research area Become aware of different points of view Discover what might be controversial about your research question Which values are the same? Which are different? Look for sources that give you an overview of your topic to give you that initial, general background of information As you progress and your thesis becomes more focused, narrow down your sources to more specialized and pertinent data

3. Reading Your Sources Rhetorically Your sources should be credible and reliable. Ask yourself these questions when searching out your sources: What was the source author’s purpose in writing this piece? What might be my purpose in using this piece? See chart on page 527-528

4. Taking Notes Take notes! If you don’t, you’re making a serious mistake! Taking notes engages the ideas of a source Taking notes helps you to synthesis different sources Taking notes incorporates YOUR voice into your paper Taking notes provides a record of what you were thinking at the time

5. Works Cited As you begin your research and settle on your sources, create their bibliographic citation immediately Saves time: you have the source in front of you, cite it Makes you look at your source rhetorically: is this peer-reviewed? A blog? A magazine article? Forces you to identify the source’s genre

6. Record Ideas and Respond to Sources Take informational notes Briefly summarize your source Record useful information Use quotes if noting exact word or phrases so you remember they are the author’s words, not your own Record your own thoughts and ideas about the source as you read

7. Evaluating Sources: Reliable, Credible, Angle of Vision, Degree of Advocacy Reliability: accuracy of factual data Check facts against multiple sources to ensure reliability Credibility: trust in the author’s honesty, goodwill, and trustworthiness Is the writer reasonable? Fair? Do they summarize opposing views? What is their tone? Do they have respect for other views? Angle of Vision: underlying values, assumptions, and beliefs Degree of Advocacy: the extent by which an author takes a persuasive stance on a contested position as opposed to adopting a more neutral, objective, or exploratory stance. For example: PETA, Sierra Club, National Rifle Assoc.