Using Your
Sources
Evaluating, Blending,
and Citing
Points to Remember about
Writing a Research Paper
 Writing
a research paper is not the same as
writing a report.
 It
focuses on one side or aspect only.
 Overall
purpose is to prove your thesis statement
through your thoughts and ideas, supported by
the research you conduct.
 Use
persuasive techniques (emotional and
logical appeals and refutation)
Primary sources
A
primary source is an original object or
document.
 It is first-hand information.
 Primary sources include historical and
legal documents, eyewitness accounts,
results of experiments, statistical data,
pieces of creative writing, and art objects.
Secondary sources
A
secondary source is something written
about a primary source.
 Secondary sources include comments on,
interpretations of, or discussions about the
original material. (second hand info)
 Secondary source materials can be articles
in newspapers or popular magazines, book
or movie reviews, or articles found in
scholarly journals that discuss or evaluate
someone else's original research
CREDIBILITY AND
RELIABILITY

How do you know if a source is credible and
reliable?

When determining if you should use a source
you need to ask yourself the following:

Is the source believable and does it give
information showing where research came
from?

Is it clear who wrote the information and can
they be trusted to give clear and accurate info?
What
qualifications does the
organization or author possess?
When was the information
published? Is it current and
relevant?
Is the information objective
and does it seem reasonable?
CREDIBILITY AND RELIABILITY
 Can
the information be verified across
multiple sources?
 Is
consideration given to multiple
points or only one? Does the author
use opinionated language?
 Is
the source electronic? Is it a .com,
.gov, or .edu source?
Credibility and Reliability
You
have to be careful with
.com sites because they
are commercial sites, which
are easy for anyone to
attain and use. This is when
it is crucial to find
qualifications for publishers
and authors of sites.
EVALUATING SOURCES
 CARS
evaluation and activity
What is a Citation?
When
you bring research
(quotations, paraphrases, facts,
statistics, etc.) into your paper and
give credit to the source and its
author. The purpose of a citation is
to do this.
This
is done through a parenthetical
in-text citation.
Quotes and Paraphrases
 Direct
Quote-material pulled directly
from source and quoted exactly as it
appears with quotation marks around
 Paraphrase-material
pulled from source
and, rephrased into your own words. It
does not contain quotation marks and
should be kept to similar length of the
original.
In-text Citations
 REMEMBER:
AUTHOR TRUMPS
EVERYTHING!!! IF YOU HAVE AN
AUTHOR, THEIR NAME IS MOST
IMPORTANT! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN
AUTHOR, THEN USE THE TITLE AND
PAGE NUMBER. (If it is not an internet
source) NOTE, THE PAGE NUMBER IS
NOT THE NUMBER OF PAGES IT TOOK
TO PRINT YOUR SOURCE (1 OF 1 OR 2
OF 2!)
Examples:
 (Author
and page).
and page).
Danger” 32).
(Wilson 32).
 (“Title”
(“Cell Phone Use is a
 (“Title”).
(“Social Networking is
a Forum for Bullying”).
Attribution
 Citations
must include Attribution, which is
where you give credit to the author within the
citation.
 To
do this, you mention your author and any
credentials or qualifications they have,
along with the title of the work. This goes in
the front of the in-text citation.
 You do this the first time that you introduce a
new source into the paper.
Attribution Examples
According
to Elie Wiesel, author
and founder of the Elie Wiesel
Foundation, which is an
organization seeking to combat
injustice and indifference to others,
“Oprah the public figure and
Oprah the friend are one and the
same person, helping the helpless
and giving a voice to the
voiceless.”
More examples
 According
to the website, “Oprah is a
Role Model for Girls,” “by opening the
school for girls in South Africa, she will
be helping over 150 disadvantaged
girls and giving the community a sign of
hope they desperately need.”

When you state the author’s name this
way (showing attribution), you do not
need the in-text citation at the end
because you have already given
credit.
MORE CITATIONS: **SOURCE HAS
ALREADY BEEN CITED ONCE
 “By
opening a school for disadvantaged girls in
South Africa, Oprah is helping over 150
disadvantaged girls and giving the community
a sign of hope they desperately need”
(Wiesel).
 Wiesel
states, “By opening a school for
disadvantaged girls in South Africa, Oprah is
helping over 150 disadvantaged girls and
giving the community a sign of hope they
desperately need”
Paraphrasing
 Direct
citation: “By opening a school for
disadvantaged girls in South Africa, Oprah
is helping over 150 disadvantaged girls
and giving the community a sign of hope
they desperately need” (Wiesel).
 Paraphrase: Oprah becomes a sign of
hope when she opens a school in South
Africa for 150 disadvantaged girls in the
community. (Wiesel).
 *Note: Paraphrasing does not require
quotation marks because it is your
phrasing, not the phrasing directly from
the source
Review
 How
does a research paper differ from a
report?
 It focuses on only one side or aspect of a
topic.
 What is the purpose in writing a research
paper?
 To prove your thesis through your thoughts
and ideas supported by the research you
conducted.
Review
 Define
a primary source.
 First hand information original words,
musical compositions, works of art, etc.
 Define a secondary source.
 Works written about the primary sources
(critical analyses, reviews, reports about
experiments, etc.)
Review
 What
is the purpose of a citation?
 To give credit to the source you have
used (in your paper a quotation) and its
author
Review
 What
is the most important thing to put in
a citation?
 Author’s name
 If this isn’t available, what should be
used?
 Title of the article
 When is the only time a page number is
given in a citation?
 When using a print source.
Review
 In
what four areas must a source be
evaluated before you can consider using
it in your paper? (Think CARS)
 Credibility
 Accuracy
 Rationality
 Support