Evaluating Sources and Making Source Cards

Infohio.org Remember: Infohio is a data base. The sources on Infohio are trustworthy and reliable. You will still need to read over any information you find there to be sure that it will be useful for your paper.

What counts as a source? You will need at least FIVE sources. One source is…. One reliable website One article from Ebscohost on the Infohio database One article from Newsbank on the Infohio database One article from an encyclopedia on Infohio (some teachers will not allow encyclopedias) One book

How do I know if a source is useful? Length – very brief sources will not be very helpful Number of specific facts and details Doesn’t repeat a lot of information that you already have from another source Gives information about the subtopics for your paper

Subtopics for Periods 2, 7, 9 Description of the animal. Description of the habitat. Endangered status. Solutions.

Subtopics for Periods 4 - 5 Basic description of each job and the expected salary and benefits Duties Working conditions Education needed for the career, time, years, cost Growth projection – How many jobs are expected in the future (at the time you will graduate from college). Suitability for your interests and abilities

Subtopics for Period 8 First you will need to narrow and focus your topic, then… Describe the problem: general description What are the causes of the problem? What are the effects of the problem? What are the possible solutions? Describe 1 -2 solutions in detail or several in less detail. Evaluate the solutions. How effective do you suppose they would be and why

Internet Search When you search the Internet, you use a search engine. Google, Bing, and Yahoo are examples of search engines. A search engine is “a computer program that searches documents, esp. on the World Wide Web, for a specified word or words and provides a list of documents in which they are found.” Dictionary.com

Internet Search A search engine does not “know” the difference between reliable and unreliable websites. The results list will show any documents that have the words you used for your search. It is YOUR responsibility to check websites to see if they are reliable or unreliable sources.

How do we know a source is reliable? The author is respected in his or her field with a good reputation. How do we find out about the author? A biography on the site Other reputable people trust the author A web search on the author

How do we know a source is reliable? Sometimes a website does not list a person(s) as the author. The we need to check out the publisher of the site. The publisher is the group that produced the site. How do we find out about the publisher? Click on “about us” to see what organization made the site and what their credentials are. IF the site does not give information about the publisher, avoid it.

How do we know a source is reliable? Based on who has made the site, we need to think about whether the source is likely to biased and to have a one-sided view of the issue. Some sites are so biased they are not of any value for research. You will need to read other biased sites carefully and check their facts elsewhere.

How do we know a source is reliable? Reliable sites are well-documented. The site will have a works cited page The site will use factual information from other reputable sources The facts on the site can be confirmed from other sources, perhaps from a data base.

How do we know a source is reliable? The site should be up-to-date. Check the copyright date which is usually on the bottom of the home page. If you don’t find it there, you might find it under “About Us.”

How do we know a source is reliable? Is the site trying to sell you something? If so, their information should not be trusted until it is verified from other trustworthy sources.

Making Source Cards Making source cards is a way to keep track of your sources and organize them so you don’t plagiarize while you are taking notes. You should copy each of the MLA citations that we created on easybib onto a separate notecard. For example….

Your First Source Card This is an example of a source card for the first website that we used to find your topic. Copy all of this onto your first blank index card. This is your first source card. "Endangered Species Guide : Mammals : Animal Planet." Animal Planet : Pets, Wild Animals, Dog Breeds, Cat Breeds. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. <http://animal.discovery.com/guides/endangered/mammals/blue-whale.html>.

Make a Source Card for Each Source Repeat the process for each of your sources. You will have four source cards. These are due on Monday.