PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
The Scientific Consumer
Evaluation Package: Support & Refutation
Name:
________________________________
Period:
_______
Claim to be Investigated (e.g. Vaccinations cause autism. Make a statement, don’t ask
a question.):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Hand in this Assessment Package:




to Mr. Maddock,
at the beginning of your SBI 3U1 class period
on Monday April 22, 2013
package must be complete, legible, neatly organized (with the pages in the required
order, no loose pages), and in your Assignment Folder (the coloured folder)
Organize package this way, in your Assignment Folder (coloured folder):
 Support / Refutation Evaluation Package (this handout), with cover page completed.
 4 “source packages”, each source package to be organized this way: printout / photocopy
of source, Record of Source Organizer, Notemaking: Source Evaluation Organizer
 Annotated Bibliography - including draft, if you have one (draft is not required, but hand it in
if you have it – and yes, it’s a very good idea to have it)
 Contents notes for the 2 sources you decided to use, done on Generic Notes Organizers
 Smart Ideas Web and Outline with Background content added
 Background Paragraph – drafts (at least one, with evidence of revision / editing) and
good copy (note: both drafts and good copy MUST include Works Cited and parenthetical
referencing)
Everything else should be moved to your Work Folder (or to a storage folder, if you
prefer). MAKE SURE there are NO loose pages – use staples and / or binder clips to
secure your work.
LEVEL:
R
1
2
3
4
(R=les than 50%, 1=50-59%, 2=60-69%, 3=70-79%, 4=80-100%)
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
1
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
How do you get a “3”? Do exactly what you’re supposed to do, and do it
competently.
EVERYONE is capable of achieving AT LEAST a Level 3 on this
assignment.
Want to know exactly what I’ll be looking for when I evaluate your work?
Read on!
1.
Locate and Record 3 Support sources and 3 Refutation sources.
 LOCATE 3 Support and 3 Refutation sources
 printout / copy of source (printed directly from web not cut and paste, source noted on
photocopy)
 avoid re-postings – whenever possible, use original source material rather than
re-posted articles
 articles must be approved by Miss Dillon
 general approval / recommendation of source is not enough – article used must be
approved
 RECORD 6 Support and Refutation sources
 use correct Record of Source form (Print, Online)
 RoS must be complete, accurate, and legible
 rough work, so corrections / cross-outs are fine, as long as RoS is legible
 for online sources, some pieces of information might not be available
 make your RoS as complete as possible
 subscriber? only if username / password required
o Grolier Online, subscriber is Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board
o Gale Virtual Reference Library, subscriber is Philip Pocock Catholic
Secondary School
 publisher
o Skeptic’s Dictionary – Robert T. Carroll is author and publisher
o QuackWatch – various authors, Stephen Barrett is publisher
 page numbers
o most online sources are not paginated
o page numbers added by printer don’t count – will differ from printer to printer
o documents in PDF usually have page numbers
 government documents
o author is 2 levels of government (e.g. Canada. Health Canada or
United States. National Cancer Institute)
o document title italicized
o no website title
o no publisher
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
2
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
2. Evaluate 6 Support and Refutation Sources and Select 4 Paragraph /
Essay Sources
 make evaluation notes for each of your 6 Support and Refutation sources
 format / setup
 NoteMaking: Source Evaluation Organizer used
 source clearly identified (complete citation not necessary)
 main idea / supporting detail format is already set up – use it
 content
 point-form jot notes in your own words
 Relevance, Coverage, Currency – handled briefly
 relevance
o Does this source actually address your inquiry questions? For example, if
you are researching chiropractic subluxations, then an article about the
history of chiropractic or how chiropractors are trained or regulated is not
relevant.
 coverage
o Generally speaking, you will not be using deep sources. A PhD. Thesis is
deep. A 500 page book is deep. An article, even one focused on a narrow
topic, is not deep. Deep enough, sure – but be careful with your
descriptors.
o Some articles provide broad coverage, that is, an overview of many
aspects of a topic .
o Other articles provide narrower, more focused coverage (an examination
in some detail about one aspect of a topoic).
 currency
o How old is this article? Given the type of information needed, is this source
current enough to meet your needs? Generally speaking, a source more
than 5 years old is probably too old, unless it is a “foundation source” for
your claim.
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
3
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND

Authority – focus here
 Must build complete “authority chain”
o e.g. “I know The Encyclopedia of Family Health has authority because it
was recommended by Miss Dillon, my Teacher-Librarian. I know Miss
Dillon has the authority to make such recommendations because her
experience (17 years as Pocock’s Teacher-Librarian) and qualifications
(Additional Qualifications Specialist in School Librarianship, Master of
Education in Teacher-Librarianship) give her expertise in research. I know
she has these qualifications and this experience because she told me so,
and I was able to verify her statement by going to the website of the Ontario
College of Teachers, accessing the OCT Public Registry, and viewing a
digital copy of Miss Dillon’s Ontario Teaching Certificate, which confirms her
AQ Specialist and her M.Ed. Given Miss Dillon’s authority, it is reasonable
to think that a source she identifies as authoritative, such as The
Encyclopedia of Family Health, does indeed have authority.”
o You can accept non-political government sources from Canada, the United
States, the United Kingdom, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand
as authoritative.
o When dealing with a reference work (e.g. encyclopedia, a Merck manual,
KidsHealth), the focus for determining authority is the reference work
itself and / or the publisher, not the author if the article.
o These arguments would be outlined in point-form notes.
 IF a source has authority, THEN it is reasonable to think that the information
provided by that source is reliable,
o e.g. “Given that The Encyclopedia of Family Health has authority, it is
reasonable to think that the information in its articles is reliable.”
 You should be able to find authoritative Refutation sources.
 You will have MUCH more difficulty (and, in fact, will probably find it impossible)
to find authoritative Support sources. You will find the concept of “Limited
Authority” useful. That is, you are looking for support sources written by
persons or organizations viewed by those who support the claim as having
authority but who are seen by those who refute the claim as lacking
authority.
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
4
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
 prepare your annotated bibliography (include all 4 sources)
 page setup
 header with last name and page number, right justified, 1 space apart, create using
“insert page number”
 title of page is Annotated Bibliography, centred, at top margin, same font / size as
rest of page, not bolded / underlined / etc.
 bibliographic entries double spaced, each entry begins at margin, subsequent
lines indented 5 spaces (1 tab), entries in alphabetical order
 annotations can be single OR double spaced, all lines begin at 1 tab mark (entire
paragraph is indented 1 tab = 5 spaces)
 font must be Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman, size must be 12 point
 set margin at 1 inch on all sides
 bibliographic citations (the Works Cited citations)
 same as any other Works Cited
 pay attention to type of source, e.g. government documents have a unique format
 annotations
 format
 1-sentence summary
 evaluation
 application statement
 content
 summary must accurately reflect content and, if appropriate, opinion
 evaluation includes brief statement(s) about relevance, coverage, and currency,
focus on authority, statement about reliability
 remember, you are dealing with Support and Refutation sources, so your
application statement will state that you will, or will not, use this article as a
Support source or as a Refutation source
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
5
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
3.
Make and Organize Notes from 2 Essay Sources
 contents notes for each source
 format / setup
 Generic NoteMaking Organizer used
 source identified
 organization
 main idea / supporting detail format used
 organization must make sense
 keep Inquiry Questions in mind when appropriate
 content
 majority of information paraphrased (in your own words)
 quotations well-selected & properly handled
 Smart Ideas Web - Background
 organization
 use of shapes NOT colour to organize
 placement of points (all in same “bubble” vs. subdividing) makes sense (no single
organizational strategy will fit everyone)
 content
 consistent content (web content matches notes content)
 referencing information included
 print Support and Refutation Web (will include Background information as well as
“skeleton” for rest of project)
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
6
PHASES 2 & 3: INVESTIGATING AND PROCESSING –
BACKGROUND
4.
Write Support and Refutation Paragraphs
 Smart Ideas Outline – Support and Refutation
 organization
 use of shapes NOT colour to organize
 placement of points (all at same level vs. subdividing) makes sense, proper Outline
organization (established in Phase 1) maintained
 consistent content (outline content matches web content matches notes content)
 referencing information included
 print Support and Refutation Outline (remember, will also include rest of project)
 draft(s)
 content and style
 formal essay – use third person, always
 check for agreement (e.g. entire sentence is either singular or plural, consistent
verb tense usage)
 no contractions
 no slang or colloquial speech
 Works Cited & Parenthetical References
 evidence of revision / editing
 MLA page setup (header with last name & page number, information in upper left
corner, title, paragraph indented, entire page double-spaced, standard font, 12 point
text)
 good copy
 content
 style
 Works Cited (2 citations): page setup, citations-format, citations-content
 Parenthetical References (minimum 2): placement, format, content
 MLA page setup (header with last name & page number, information in upper left
corner, title, paragraph indented, entire page double-spaced, standard font, 12 point
text)
PSLIC / Collaboration / School Library and Science, SBI 3U1
B.Maddock, Science Teacher & B. Dillon, Teacher-Librarian
Semester Two 2012-2013 (February 2013)
7