1. Evaluating Sources Garbage in, garbage out.

2. Reading Critically As an author, you have the responsibility of presenting authentic and valid evidence to your reader. How to read critically…

3. Issues with the Internet Anyone can publish on the Internet Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean it’s good Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus California Velcro Crop Web pages have agendas Home pages—personal opinions Commercially sponsored Sponsored by organizations

4. Evaluating Websites Who sponsors the site?.edu,.gov,.org Beware of student papers on the.edu.com Advertising Still could use, but beware of slant

5. Evaluating Websites Is the author a professional? Run a quick Google search Run a search on Amazon for other published books. Look for a bibliography or works cited list. Other primary sources for you to check out.

6. Evaluating Websites Check out the links on the site Commercial or scholarly Email, chat rooms, discussion groups Personal information Don’t use as a primary source unless emailing directly with author

7. Check this out… Go to Google and type Link: (insert the URL of the site you want to check out) See what other sites are linked to your resource. Ask yourself: Is this a credible source?

8. Primary Source Documents Straight from the horse’s mouth Pieces of legislation Library of Congress Pictures, maps, documents Lewis and Clark Expedition Other Collections The Library of Congress

9. Primary Source Documents Check out the bibliography Clues to other sources What the author drew upon for the article/book. Includes: Novels Speeches Eyewitness accounts Interviews Letters Autobiographies Results of original research

10. Internet Sites for Primary Source Documents Speeches The History Channel The History Channel Documents US National Archives US National Archives General Information National Public Radio National Public Radio Info on the media Media Education Foundation Media Education Foundation World Information National Geographic National Geographic CIA Factbook Maps

11. Secondary Sources Writings about primary sources Critical evaluation of irony in The Crucible Newspaper reports Analysis and evaluations Writings about author Writings about author’s accomplishments

12. Secondary Sources These sources are always written from the writer’s point of view Provide different ways of looking at primary material Be selective when using Quote sparingly

13. You’ve got a resource. Is it going to work for the paper? Read the table of contents/title—does it seem to relate? If it’s a book, check the blurbs on the back cover or inside flaps—does it have the key words from your research questions? Read the bibliography or check out the links on the website— does the source refer to other sources you have found? Read the first and last couple of paragraphs—is it addressing my needs? Check the copyright date If it’s technical or scientific information, you will want current (less than 4 years old) Seminal works (those that influence an entire field) could be forty years old and still applicable.

14. Citing the Source Enter the source directly into NoodleTools. If you are unsure of the author, cite the sponsoring organization (CDC, FBI, etc.) I can’t stress this enough—enter every source you look at into Noodles! This will do a couple of things for you: 1) give you a portable list that you can go back to so that you can find everything you’ve read and can be used at any computer with Internet access, and 2) save you time and effort when it comes to note cards and your works cited page because Noodles will do a great deal of the tedious work for you!