1. Reliable and UNRELIABLE Sources
Can YOU tell the difference??

2. RELIABLE
When researching, you always need to be sure that you are getting your information from reliable sources.
Some sources are considered to be “reliable” because they have been written by people who are experts in the field.
These are the sources you can

3. UNRELIABLE
On the other hand, some sources, such as Wikipedia, are not reliable because the authors may not have a thorough knowledge or full understanding of a topic.
Remember: anyone can post information on the internet, and we need to be CRITICAL READERS in order to determine what to believe!

4. POSSIBLE Reliable Sources
While you still need to read critically, here is a list of the types of sources that are often reliable and would be good places to start research:
Books—authored, edited and published
Newspapers and magazines
Peer reviewed journals
Peer reviewed articles
PhD or MBA dissertations and research
Public library
Scholarly articles
Isolated studies or academic research
Educational institutions and their websites

5. How will I KNOW if its RELIABLE??
To determine reliability of online sites and organizations, look at the URL’s ending:
If the site ends in .edu, it is most likely an educational institution. Be aware, however, of political bias.
If the site ends in .gov, it is most likely a reliable government website. These sites usually provide good sources for statistics and objective reports.
If the site ends in .org, it is usually a non-profit organization.
These sources vary in being good or poor sources of information and you will still need to research their possible agendas and biases, if they exist
Online journals and magazines:
Reliable journals and magazines should contain a bibliography for every article
Lists sources within that bibliography that can be extensive and should include scholarly, and non-Internet sources
THINK: do these sources (evidence) support the articles’ focus/main idea?
News sources:
Every television and print news source has a website
Beware! Sometimes their focus is to entertain rather than inform
Think of these sources as a stepping stone to more reliable sources

6. Credible Internet Sources
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

7. Credible Internet Sources
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
Make sure if used that it is a magazine or newspaper based site.

8. How will I KNOW if its UNRELIABLE??
The following are unreliable sources because they require confirmation with a reliable source:
Wikipedia: although this is a good starting point for finding initial ideas about a topic, some of their information and attached resources may not be reliable
Blogs, tweets
Personal websites
Forums
Sites created by organizations that may have political or biased agendas
Sites that provide biased information
Self-published sources
Opinionated articles such as editorials
Online sources with an URL that ends in html, which is the basic building blocks of web pages
Some online sources with an URL that end in .com are unreliable:
Sites of companies that conduct their business over the internet. Some of these sites are unreliable because they have hidden agendas.
THINK: are they trying to sell me something? A product? An idea?

9. Citing Sources With MLA
It’s not as hard as it used to be.

10. Citing Works in Research Papers
If you use ANY information from a source in your paper, you must CITE it.
Works Cited Page
In-Text Citations
If you didn’t say it yourself and you don’t cite it, it is plagiarism.
Plagiarism can result in:
A zero for the assignment
A requirement to redo the entire assignment
In college, plagiarism may fail you for an entire course
In college, plagiarism may result in expulsion, with no tuition refund

11. Plagiarism Is much easier to spot than it used to be
Doesn’t take very long for a teacher to check
A teacher can type 10 words of your paper into a search engine, and within seconds, compare it to tens of thousands of other papers that have already been written
In high school, many teachers believe that you are guilty until proven innocent of plagiarism
Is easy to avoid
Citation makers
MLA style sheets

12. How to Cite Sources
Citation makers will write your works cited page for you if you have the right information on your sources
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

13. Making Citations Your checklist:
Author
Title
Publication company
Publication location
Publication date
Page numbers
Date accessed online
Editor
ENTIRE web address
You might not always be able to find all of this information, but get as much as you can.

14. Citation Maker Go to easybib.org Click on “MLA”
Paste the URL of source
Fill in additional information for your source.
Click “Submit”.
Voila!  Your citation is written.

15. Information for this Power Point provided by Wikipedia.
Citations
Information for this Power Point provided by Wikipedia.
;) Just Kiddin’
Here’s the REAL Reliable Source: (note that the site is .edu)
Austin Peay State University Academic Support Center Writing Lab “Reliable and Unreliable Sources” Oct

16. Today’s objective…
Distinguish between primary (i.e., interviews, letters, diaries, newspapers, personal narratives) and secondary (i.e., reference books, periodicals, Internet, biographies)
Identify levels of reliability among resources (e.g., eyewitness account, newspaper account, supermarket tabloid account, Internet source).

17. EXIT TICKET
List two reliable resources you could use when researching a famous person involved in the civil rights movement.
What is the difference between primary and secondary sources?