Research Skills

Purpose To inform readers through synthesizing information Synthesizing information means you collect it from various places and combine it with what you already know

Primary and Secondary Sources You should try to use primary sources whenever possible Primary sources are firsthand accounts of events / facts Examples of primary sources include diaries, journals, letters, and autobiographies Secondary sources are secondhand accounts of facts. Examples of secondary sources include biographies and encyclopedias

ALL sources, whether primary or secondary, need to be evaluated by the researcher. It is your job to determine whether the source is good or not.

Evaluating a Source – the 4 R’s Check to see if a source meets the following four criteria: 1. Relevant – does it relate to the topic? Check the index / table of contents / skim the information to see. 2. Reliable – Is the author an authority or an expert? Is the source a real news or information source vs. an individual? 3. Recent – is the information up-to-date? 4. Representative – are both sides represented, or is the source neutral? Avoid sources that show a bias in one direction or the other.

Since anyone can publish a web page, it’s extra important to evaluate websites. In addition to checking for the 4 R’s, check the domain of the website URL. This doesn’t always work, but it can help in many cases.

Common Domains and What They Mean MEANING RELIABLE??? .edu Educational institution Usually. .gov Government body Yes. .org Nonprofit organization Sometimes. Some organizations will be trying to promote a cause .com Commerical enterprise (business) Often not. Evaluate very carefully!!! .net Organization offering Internet services

MLA Citation Practice Get out a piece of paper and write “Works Cited” at the top. Use the MLA Citation rules to create citations for each example. Try your best! This is hard, it’s ok if you don’t do this perfectly.

Example 1 Author: Rodman Philbrick Title: Freak the Mighty Publication City: New York Year of Publication: 1993 Publisher: Blue Sky Press Medium: Print

Example 2 Webpage title: Mrs. Garrison’s English Class Website: mrsgarrisonenglish.weebly.com Date of access: March 6, 2015

Example 3 Magazine: Time Magazine Article Title: “Why the Circus is Saying Goodbye to Elephants” Author: Tessa Berenson Date: March 1, 2015 Pages: 70 - 78

Works Cited Philbrick, Rodman. Freak the Mighty. New York: Blue Sky Press, 1993. Print. “Mrs. Garrison’s English Class.” Mrsgarrison english.weebly.com. 15 March 2015. Berenson, Tessa. “Why the Circus is Saying Goodbye to Elephants.” Time Magazine. 01 March 2015: 70-78.

Example 4 Cite your Reading RIOT book, if you don’t have your book with you, you may work with a partner at your table.