Evaluating Sources
The Annotated Bibliography
Keeping Track
• As you do your research…
– Clearly mark any notes you take that are paraphrased,
summarized, or directly quoted from a source.
– Keep a computer file or a sheet of paper with the
required MLA information of any source you use.
• Remember, any source you use from the school databases
will have a citation already done for you. All you have to do is
copy and paste it into your Works Cited file.
– Use turnitin test assignment to check your work for
accidental plagiarism.
Evaluating Sources
• Tonight, we will be evaluating an example
source as a class, and then we will be splitting
up and evaluating the source (or sources) that
we all brought individually.
Question 1: Author Qualifications
Works Cited Entry:
Subramanian, Janani. "Alienating identification: black
identity in The Brother from Another Planet and I Am
Legend." Science Fiction Film and Television 3.1 (2010):
37+. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Apr. 2013.
A quick google search of the author’s name leads us to
the following page:
http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/directory/bio/jsubrama
What do you notice about the author’s qualifications to
write about this topic? Would this be a trustworthy
source for a paper about race and science fiction?
Some things to remember about
author qualifications:
• There are different types of qualifications. These
include:
– Academic - (A degree in the subject area,
books/papers published, a good academic reputation.
If a writer is or has been hired as a professor at a
college/university, this speaks to his or her academic
reputation.)
– Personal experience – having living through a
situation will often give a writer a unique perspective.
Ways of Establishing Credibility
– Other evidence of extensive research into the
topic. A journalist or a writer who constantly
references what others have brought to the
conversation probably has a deep knowledge of
the topic and a worthwhile perspective.
– “Person on the street” – Especially useful if you
are trying to prove that an attitude is a common
one, but be careful about using this to establish
authority about complex issues.
Question 2: Who is the audience for
this work?
• The works cited page for the work we are evaluating
tells us it came from the a periodical, a journal called
Science Fiction Film and Television
• A google search tells us that the website for this journal
is http://liverpool.metapress.com/content/121631,
and it is published by Liverpool University press in
England.
• Journals published by universities are peer reviewed,
so that speaks well of the author’s credentials.
• So, given all of this information, who do you think
might be the intended readers for this essay?
Question 3: When was the work
published/updated, and does that affect
credibility?
• Looking back at our MLA Works Cited entry, we can see that
this paper was published in the journal in 2010.
• Does the publication date always matter?
– That depends.
– Topics with quickly developing conversations or new discoveries
call for more recent sources.
– BUT, just because a source is old doesn’t mean it’s useless.
– YOU need to exercise your own judgment on this issue.
• In this case, since this is only one of a very few articles I
found in my search, I believe I can use a three year old
article with confidence.
Question 4: How does the author
provide support?
• In the example essay, the author provides support
through her own analysis of the two movies she is
discussing as well as referring to other critics to whom
she gives credit in the body of her paper AND her own
works cited page.
• The works cited pages of your sources are a GREAT
place for YOU to find more sources.
• A lengthy works cited page filled with relevant sources
speaks to the author’s credibility.
• Also, a reading of the paper shows that the author’s
points are well-thought-out and thoroughly explored.
A Note About Providing Support
• Not every source will have an MLA works cited
page or be written as an academic essay. That’s
ok. There are other ways to evaluate the support
the author provides.
• If the source is an internet source that contains
links to other sources, are those other sources
trustworthy?
• If the source is an internet source, what company
or institution put its name behind the source?
• Do the source’s arguments make sense to you as
a rational, thinking person?
Question 5: How might this source be
useful in your essay?
• If I were a student writing a paper that might
include this source, I might use it to show that
the way that African Americans have been
portrayed in science fiction has not been
stable or static, and the changes in portrayals
of African Americans in sci-fi mirrors thinking
about race in America.
For YOUR OWN source, answer the
following questions:
• Question 1: What are the author’s qualifications?
• Question 2: Who is the audience for this work?
• Question 3: When was the work
published/updated, and does that affect
credibility?
• Question 4: How does the author provide
support?
• Question 5: How might this source be useful in
your essay?
Congratulations!
• You have just collected all of the information
you need to put into a paragraph after the
works cited entry for the source you brought
tonight.
• That means you are almost 1/7 of the way
done with you annotated bibliograpy!
What is an annotated bibliography?
• An annotated bibliography is similar to a works
cited page, but each source is followed by a
paragraph that summarizes the source's claim in
three or four sentences, argues for the source's
authority and relevance to your question, and
explains why you have chosen to use it in your
research paper. What perspective does this
source offer? Why is a quote, paraphrase, or
summary from this source a valuable addition to
your own writing about the topic?
Format of Annotated Bibliography
• See handout for general information about annotated
bibliographies and an example annotated bibliography
with three sources.
• Your annotated bibliography will need…
– Seven sources
– Each source put into MLA works cited format (as in
example)
– Sources alphabetized
– A paragraph following each source discussing
requirements on previous slide.
– Please skip a line between MLA works cited entries and
paragraphs. (See example.)