1. Warm-up  Fill in your agenda book with this week’s homework.  Leave your agenda book out to be checked. Read for BOB, while we wait for everyone else to finish.

2. Why is it important to have credibility?

3. Primary or Secondary  Primary Sources: Literary works (poems, short stories, novels, essays, plays); documents, autobiographies; letters; interviews; speeches; surveys; tables of statistics  Secondary Sources: Comment on or analysis of an original text; biographies

4. Evaluating the source  Usefulness  Credibility  Bias Bias Credibility

5. Usefulness  Your purpose: What will this source add to your research project? Will it help support a major point, demonstrate you have researched thoroughly, or help establish your own credibility?

6. Usefulness  Relevance: Is the source relevant to your project, or are you simply listing sources to meet the minimum requirement?

7. Credibility  Credentials of the publisher or sponsor: What can you learn about the sponsor of the source? For example, is it a newspaper known for integrity or is it a tabloid? Is it a popular source, or is it sponsored by a professional organization or academic institution? Is the book published by a company you recognize or can locate easily on the web?

8. Credibility  Accuracy of the source: Can you find other sources that have similar information or support parts of what you find in this source?  Cross-references to the source: Is the source cited in other works? If you see the source cited other places, notice what another author says about the source. Another’s comments may give you insight into the credibility.

9. Bias  Stance of the source: It’s important to identify the source’s point of view (bias). Would the author have a reason to slant the information? Omit essential facts or details? Identifying the source is the first step toward evaluating whether the source’s bias would be a concern. For instance, would the source be trying to convince you of an idea? Sell something? Call you to action? Do any of those purposes call the information in the source into question?

10. What is bias? According to Webster's Dictionary online: Bias is defined as:  an inclination of temperament or outlook; especially: a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment: PREJUDICE

11. Red Flags for source credibility  Anonymity – no author or sponsoring entity  Negative reviews by other sources  Misspelled words and poor grammar  Vague or sweeping generalizations  One-sided viewpoint that does not address an opposing side

12. Red Flags  Tone or language ("stupid jerks," "shrill cries of my extremist opponents")  Overclaims ("Thousands of children are murdered every day in the United States.")  Sweeping statements of excessive significance ("This is the most important idea ever conceived!")  Conflict of Interest ("The products our competitors make are dangerous and bad for your health.")

13. Red Flags  Numbers or statistics presented without an identified source for them  Absence of source documentation when the discussion clearly needs such documentation  You cannot find any other sources that present the same information or acknowledge that the same information exists (lack of corroboration)

14. Cues from URLs edu = educational institution http://docsouth.unc.edu.http://docsouth.unc.edu gov = US government site http://memory.loc.gov.http://memory.loc.gov org = organization or association http://www.theaha.org.http://www.theaha.org com = commercial site http://www.historychannel.com.http://www.historychannel.com museum = museum http://nc.history.museum.http://nc.history.museum net = personal or other site http://www.californiahistory.nethttp://www.californiahistory.net

15. Directions  Complete your worksheet by scanning the QR codes around the room.  You may use your own devices and work with a partner.

16. Homework  Knight Site Video and Quiz  View the video  Complete the quiz on Skyward by Friday!  Read for BOB