Research!! If this baby can do it, so can you 

You never know what you’ll find…

What we’re doing today… LEARNING: What is a “good” source? How do I find good sources? What should my citations look like? What are source cards? What are note cards? DOING: Research in the library Creating source cards for each source Creating note cards for each source

What is a “good” source? A good source is credible The person who wrote it is an expert in that field OR that person can point you to research that an expert has done

Using the Internet Using online sources is okay, but be careful! Not everything online is true Look for sources that are credible Websites that end in .gov or .org Google Scholar Databases

Source Cards! Sources: where you get your information (books, websites, articles, etc.)

All source cards must look the same. Use a 3 x 5 white, lined index card. In the top right-hand corner, put a number (a different letter for each source you use, beginning with 1) on the red line. Begin writing on the first blue line of the card. The first line begins at the far left on the card. Each additional line is indented approx. ½ inch.

Book with one author: Put things in the following order on the card, writing continuously across the lines. Notice the punctuation required after each item – it’s in red. Last name of the author, First name. Title of the Book. City of publication: Publishing Company, copyright date. Print. title should be underlined when writing it out include the word Print after the date for standard books

Example source card for a book with one author: 1 Miller, Mary. Coping with Parents. New York: Rosen, 1990. Print.

The source card for a book with two or three authors has only one difference: the way you add the second/third authors. For 2 authors: last name of the first author, first name, and first name of the second author and last name. For 3 authors: last name of 1st author, first name of 1st author, 2nd author first/last name, and 3rd author first/last name. Example: McBob, Robert, and Henry Walker.

What if my source has four or more authors? Simply use the abbreviation et al after listing the first author’s name. Then, follow the same rules for a book with one author to finish. For example: Gilman, Sander, et al. Hysteria Beyond Freud. Berkeley U of California P, 1993. Print.

Special circumstances: If no author or editor is given, begin with the title of the book. If several cities of publication are provided, use only the first one listed. If no city is listed, use N.p. If no publishing company is given, use n.p. If several copyright dates are listed, use the most recent one. If no date is listed, use n.d. If the work is published outside of the United States, use city and country of publication (London, England:).

Online Source Card last name, first name of author/site creator. “title of work.” (quotations used when using specific articles w/in one site; underline title when using entire site) title of overall Web site (italicized) if different from above title publisher/sponsor of site, (if not available, use N.p.) date of site publication. Again, day month year format OR copyright year. write/type the word Web. date of your access. Again, day month year format. *** URL/Internet address should be written on the bottom line(s) of your source card.

Example source card for an online source: 2 Quade, Alex. “Elite Team Rescues Troops Behind Enemy Lines.” CNN.com. Cable News Network, 19 Mar. 2007. Web. 15 May 2008. Http://www.cnn.com

A couple of reminders about online sources... Needed information is not always available, so you have to use what is available. Double check for the information, but if you can’t find it, ask for help!

Where you take notes for your research  Note Cards! Where you take notes for your research 

Taking Notes Once you have examined your sources and determined their usefulness, you are ready to begin taking notes from them. Certain information is required on ALL note cards. Notes may be taken in a variety of formats: complete sentences, lists, fragments, or a combination of these. Material copied directly from the text should ALWAYS be placed in quotation marks and immediately cited.

Top Right Corner: Card Number and Letter Example: 1-A This example is the first note card for Source 1. Your second note card for Source 1 would be labeled “1-B” and so on.

Middle: Heading and Information Write a single word or phrase that will remind you what the information is about Below that, write the information you want to use from the source ***Remember to put it in your own words. If you do not, put it in quotations to remind you that it is a direct quote

Bottom Right Corner: Page # In the bottom right corner of your note card, put the page number where you found the information if it is a book If it is a website or something else without page numbers, put some kind of detail to help you find the information again

Statistics on Drunk Driving Sample Note Card 2-C Over 1.2 million people in America were arrested in 2011 for driving “under the influence” Statistics on Drunk Driving “Statistics” page on MADD website

Tips for taking notes Write only one main point on a note card Write only essential words and info, abbreviate when possible. Be accurate: double check direct quotes and statistics. Identify direct quotes with quotation marks and the person's name. Bracket your own words [ ] when you add them into a quote. Distinguish between 'fact' and 'opinion'. Write the page number of the source after the note.