EVALUATE SOURCES
There are Three Steps to Using Sources:
Find sources and choose the best ones for your purpose.
2. Read the sources carefully, keeping track of your own
reactions to the author’s ideas and using your sources as
a springboard for your own contribution to the
discussion.
3. Use the sources in your essay, giving proper credit in the
body of the essay and at the end, using MLA format.
1.
More Advice on Sources
• Just because you find a source and read it doesn’t
mean you have to use it. If you read a source and
don’t like it, keep looking.
• Keep researching throughout the writing process.
If you find a wonderful source with all kinds of
good ideas you want to respond to after you wrote
a draft, that’s fine. Include that source and your
response when you revise.
• Keep track of every source you use ideas or quotes
from in your paper. You will need to be able to
find the source again when you give it credit.
Using Sources and Giving Credit
• Once you’ve found your sources, read them, took notes, and
you’re ready to use your sources in your essay.
• So… which quotes should you use?
• Quotes that contain ideas you want to respond to.
• Quotes that show something you are making a point about.
• Quotes where the original source’s wording is especially good or
important to your response.
• Quotes that contain ideas that would make most people want proof.
• Any quote you use should have an explanation/response that
is TWICE AS LONG as the original quote. If a quote takes up
two full lines of your paper, the explanation/response to that
quote should take up FOUR.
Source Evaluation Questions
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Ask yourself the following questions to determine a
source’s level of credibility:
When was the source published?
What are author’s credentials?
Who’s the intended audience?
Is the argument balanced or does it show bias and make
unsupported claims, illogical conclusions, or inaccurate
generalizations?
Lastly, what sorts of references does your source cite?
Criteria for Evaluating Sources
Know your CRAAP!
• Currency
• Relevance
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Purpose
The CRAAP test is adapted from the Meriam Library at California State
University Chico.
Is the Source Current?
• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your
topic?
• Web sites: are the links functional?
• If there is a reference list, does it include up-to-date
sources?
Is Your Source Current?
Relevance:
The Importance of the Info to Your Needs
• Does the information relate to your topic or answer
your question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too
elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before
determining this is one you will use?
Relevance
What audience might find this web site relevant?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/autism/DS00348/
Authority:
Who is the Source of the Info?
 Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
 Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations
given? If yes, what are they?
 What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
 Is there contact information, such as an address, publisher
or institution?
 Web sites: does the URL reveal anything about the author or
source?
examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net
(See http://scc.losrios.edu/~library/tutorials/c/URLs/TLDs/ for an
explanation.)
Authority
Accuracy:
How Reliable, Truthful, or Correct is this Info?
• Where does the information come from?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from
personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem biased or free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Accuracy
Is information
supported by
evidence?
Purpose:
Why does the information exist?
• What is the purpose of the information? to inform?
teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or
purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious,
institutional, or personal biases?
Purpose
INCORPORATE YOUR
SOURCES
Integrating Your Sources (+ Handout)
• Before each quote, you should introduce
the information.
• After each quote, you need to explain the
material to the reader and then provide a
response.
• By providing a response to the sourced
material, you are integrating the support into
your argument.
• After your explain and response, CONNECT
your point to what you will say next.
Don’t Misrepresent a Source!
Don’t misrepresent a quote or leave out important
information.
Misquote: Crime is not as much of a problem as it was in
the 1990s, and according to Dr. Smith, “Crime rates
dropped to very low levels in 2010” (5).
Actual quote: “Crime rates dropped to very low levels in
2010, but steadily began climbing again a year later,” said
Dr. Smith.
Using Sources and Giving Credit
• Once you’ve found your sources, read them, took notes, and
you’re ready to use your sources in your essay.
• So… which quotes should you use?
• Quotes that contain ideas you want to respond to.
• Quotes that show something you are making a point about.
• Quotes where the original source’s wording is especially good or
important to your response.
• Quotes that contain ideas that would make most people want proof.
• Any quote you use should have an explanation/response that
is TWICE AS LONG as the original quote. If a quote takes up
two full lines of your paper, the explanation/response to that
quote should take up FOUR.
What Is MLA Format?
• MLA Stands for “Modern Language Association”
• The MLA makes rules for the writers of research
papers in English and the Humanities so that
everyone who is doing research is following the
same set of rules and we can all understand each
other.
What kinds of things do I need to do to
have correct MLA Format?
• Part of MLA style is format.
• Margins
• Heading
• Font, etc.
• Please see the formatting example that is on the class blog for my
expectations on formatting.
• Part of MLA style is citation.
• This means giving credit to your sources and avoiding plagiarism.
• Citation is also meant to make is easy for your reader find your
sources if he or she wishes to read them.
MLA Citation has two main parts:
1. Parenthetical citations. Ex: (Anderson 3)
– Are in the body (main text) of your essay.
– Come after each paraphrase or quote that you did not
write or think of yourself, you must indicate which
source you are using in order to avoid plagiarism.
Consult your textbook, a handbook, or the handout on
Moodle for more detail.
2. A Works Cited page:
– On its own page at the end of your essay
– Lists every source you used in alphabetical order by
the last name of the author.
– Each works cited entry must contain specific
information in a specific order. Consult a handbook
or the handout on the blog for more details.
Four Basic Rules for Avoiding Plagiarism
Make sure all word-for-word quotes have quote marks
showing where they begin and end.
2. Make sure to make the difference between your ideas
and your sources’ ideas clear when paraphrasing.
3. Identify where each quote OR paraphrased idea came
from in the body of your paper using in-text citations.
4. Make sure that each source you quote OR paraphrase
in your paper is correctly listed on your Works Cited
page.
1.
Pass out the Incorporating Sources Handout and
ask students if they printed the MLA Templates
Handout from last week.
Some Myths about Plagiarism:
• Myth 1: As long as I have a source on my works cited page, I
don’t have to mention it in the body of my paper.
• WRONG! Any time you use ideas or words from a source, you
must include an in-text citation.
• Myth 2: As long as I change one or two words in a quote, I
don’t have to put quote marks around it or do a citation.
• WRONG! Changing one or two words in a quote and replacing
them with synonyms is STILL PLAGIARISM if you keep the
original ideas and/or sentence structure.
• Myth 3: As long as I paraphrase correctly, using my own
words and sentence structure to express an idea or give
information, I don’t need an in-text citation.
• WRONG! Even if you use your own words, if the specific
idea/information originally came from somewhere else, you
must cite it.
More Myths about Plagiarism:
• Myth 4: I don’t need to cite exact words, ideas or information
I find on the internet.
• WRONG! Treat your internet sources with the same respect you
have for your print or online database sources.
• Myth 5: It is appropriate to use an old essay from a friend,
buy an essay, or have someone help me write an essay using
his or her wording instead of mine.
• WRONG! All of these are called collusion, and they are all
plagiarism.
• Myth 6: I won’t get caught if I plagiarize.
• WRONG! Plagiarism is quite obvious to most professors, and
many of them use plagiarism detecting software.
Resources to Help you Avoid Plagiarism
• Use turnitin.com ! Upload your essay several days before the
due date, wait an hour or two, then “view” it. You should be
able to see your own originality score and make sure all of your
highlighted quotes are correctly cited.
• As long as it is well before the due date, you will then be
able to check this then delete your essay and upload a new
revised version when you are ready to submit.
• Other Resources:
• Online plagiarism tutorial and quizzes from Simon Fraser University
http://www.lib.sfu.ca/node/10442
• Plagiarism Self Test from Western Carolina University
http://www.wcu.edu/12083.asp
• University of Southern Mississippi’s Plagiarism Tutorial
http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/plag/plagiarismtutorial.php
Annotated Bibliography
The Annotated Bibliography will be comprised of at least 5
sources in MLA works cited format.
• This means that you will have a correctly formatted
citation for 5 sources you have found in your research.
• I have provided you with resources for the most common
forms of citations, but you may have to look up some on
your own.
• Your textbook , The Little Seagull Handbook is an excellent
resource, as are websites like the OWL at Perdue and YouTube.
How the Annotated Bibliography is DIFFERENT than
a regular Works Cited page:
• The difference? Annotations! (notes on each source)
• Beneath each MLA citation on your works cited
page, you need to write a short paragraph that
briefly does the following 4 things:
• Summarizes the source
• Discusses where/how you found the source
• Gives the reasons the source is credible/reputable
• Explains how it will be relevant to your topic and useful in your
paper.
Example:
Booker, Joe. “Homelessness in LA: A Growing Trend”, Trends in
Society Journal. 12.2.(2006): 5-6. Print.
This article discusses how homelessness has increased by 50% in the
Los Angeles area over the past 5 years, and how factors such as mental
illness, economics, and racist and classist zoning of houses and
apartments has affected these numbers. I found this argument using
the Lexis-Nexis search engine, accessed through CSUN Oviatt Library.
I searched for “homelessness in Los Angeles” and found this article
after looking through my search results. It is a peer-reviewed article
from a respected journal, so I knew it was both academic and
trustworthy. This article will be useful to my essay because it provides
some useful statistics that I will cite as support when I discuss
homelessness as a persistent problem in our society that shows the
growing gap between the very rich and the very poor. I will then
connect this to the huge gap between the wealthy Capitol citizens and
the impoverished workers who live in the districts, and discuss how The
Hunger Games can be seen as commentary on the wealth gap in our
own society.
Due Next Week:
• Week 12: November 19
• Topics: Research and Incorporating Sources Continued.
Also discuss Thesis Statements and have a Thesis
Workshop!
• Due:
• The Little Seagull Handbook: “Synthesizing
Ideas” and “Integrating Sources and Avoiding
Plagiarism” p. 96-108
• Annotated Bibliography – upload to turnitin. Also
bring a copy to share with your group.