1. WORDS… more than just letters. Evaluating and Citing Electronic Resources Created by Doreen E.C. Brown, MLIS Updated 2/5/2010

2. You may have heard that 'knowledge is power,' or that information, the raw material of knowledge, is power. But the truth is that only some information is power: reliable information" (Harris, R.).Harris, R.

3. ON-Line Sources Digging through all the dirt

4. Preview the site– this can save you valuable time! Take the time to read the website info on your search page..edu indicates that the site is sponsored by an educational institution, usually a university..gov indicates that it is a government sponsored site. This includes federal, state and local entities..com and.net sites can be anyone. Look for buzz words that indicate they are selling something.

5. Key factors to consider Authority Treatment/Scope Navigation Currency Miscellaneous

6. Authority It is very important to know who is supplying the information you are reading. Ask these questions: Is this a reputable source such as an encyclopedia Is it some ones class project or thesis paper Does the author identify themselves and give their qualifications?

7. wikis, blogs, and e-journals, Oh my… Remember that it is hard to verify the authority of these types of sites.

8. Where to find the information: Author Home or about us Sometimes you have to go through layers of web pages to find this information. Many times on web sites there is no clearly defined author. If that is the case, begin your citation with the document title.

9. Treatment/Scope Is the focus of the web site easily identified and what you are looking for? Does the website give you an unbiased and fair discussion of the topic (does it present more than one viewpoint)? Or is it speculation based on the authors personal opinion?

10. Navigation and Currency Web sites should be easy on the eyes and simple to use. The site should be regularly updated and maintained so the you can always find it, and the information is up- to-date.

11. Date Use the most recent date given. Look for words like updated, revised, or modified. If there is no date, put n.d. where the date would normally go.

12. Date… Frequently the only date given is the year. If that is the case, you can only use the year! Write it out 2003. Write out the abbreviation for the month, January is Jan., February is Feb., and so forth.

13. Miscellaneous Graphs Charts Are they accurate, up-to-date and easy to read? Illustrations Photographs

14. The date accessed is very important to include because information changes daily. This is the day that you looked at the website and retrieved information.

15. Things to avoid Personal web sites and school projects that have no authority Sites that haven’t been updated or maintained Websites that have misspelled words Web sites that are slanted to one view point

16. Under all the dirt, is the treasure within.

17. Avoid plagiarism Cite your sources Every different type of source has its own citation requirements. The following is an example of a very basic electronic citation. It is taken from the 5 th edition (2009 update) of Diana Hacker’s “A Pocket Style Manual”.

18. How to cite an Internet resource Authors name (last, first). ”Document title” (in quotes). Title of website (italics). Sponsor of website, Copyright date. (d/m/yyyy) Medium. Date accessed (d/m/yyyy). Be consistent. The first line is to the margin and each following line is indented five spaces.

19. http://www.bedfordstmartins.c om/online/citex.html For more detailed instructions on electronic citations, check out this site. Remember to use the MLA format.

20. Good Luck!