Freshman Research Paper

1. 2011-2011 * Chapa and Marconi * World History and English Freshman Research Paper

2. Why do you need to evaluate sources? • There are thousands of potential sources on your research topic, it would be impossible to read all of them. • For example, there are over 100,000 research studies on depression. • You would be severely depressed if you had to read them all! • Not all resources are of equal quality. You want to spend your time gathering the ones that are the most reliable. • Consider the check-out lane at the grocery store where magazines are lined up. Included there are tabloids mixed with news magazines. Which one would have the more reliable information? The one featuring a story about aliens giving birth to bananas or the one featuring a perspective on the revolution occurring currently in Egypt? • Internet research involves separating the “tabloids” from the factual sources.

3. Why do you need to evaluate sources? (continued) • Evaluating sources is an important skill. • It's been called an art as well as work--much of which is detective work. • You have to decide where to look, what clues to search for, and what to accept. • You may be overwhelmed with too much information or too little. • The temptation is to accept whatever you find. But don't be tempted. • Learning how to evaluate effectively is a skill you need both for your course papers and your life.

4. Evaluating Bibliographic Citations • When searching for information in online article databases, you will first find a bibliographic citation entry. • A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as short summary of the text. • Before you read a source or spend time hunting for it, begin by looking at the following information in the citation to evaluate whether it's worth finding or reading. • Consider the author, the title of the work, the summary, where it is, and the timeliness of the entry. • You may also want to look at the keywords to see what other categories the work falls into. • Evaluate this information to see if it is relevant and valid for your research.

5. Evaluation During Reading • Read the preface--what does the author want to accomplish? • Browse through the table of contents and the index. This will give you an overview of the source. • Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? If you don't find your topic discussed, try searching for some synonyms in the index. • Check for a list of references or other citations that look as if they will lead you to related material that would be good sources. • Determine the intended audience. Are you the intended audience • Consider the tone, style, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. • Are they appropriate for your needs? • Try to determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda. • If you think the source is offering facts, are the sources for those facts clearly indicated? • Do you think there's enough evidence offered? Is the coverage comprehensive? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.)

6. Evaluation During Reading Cont. • Is the language objective or emotional? • Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter? • Does the author use a good mix of primary and secondary sources for information? • If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? (Consider again those questions about the author. Is this person reputable?) • Check for accuracy. (Are there spelling and grammar errors?) • How timely is the source? Is the source 20 years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound 50 or 100 years later.

7. Evaluation During Reading Cont. • Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere? • How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization? • Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren't backed up with evidence? • Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

8. Websites to Use for Research • Google Scholar • EBSCO (access through D-CHS Media Center) • .edu sites • .gov sites • Library of Congress • The White House. • Respectable websites will have most of the following: • Author or Organization Name • Date of Publication and Last Update • Affiliation with established institution

9. Resources to Search the Invisible Web • Alexa: A website that archives older websites that are no longer available on the Internet. For example, Alexa has about 87 million websites from the 2000 election that are for the most part no longer available on the Internet. • Complete Planet: Provides an extensive listing of databases that cannot be searched by conventional search engine technology. It provides access to lists of databases which you can then search individually. • The Directory of Open Access Journals: Another full-text journal searchable database. • FindArticles: Indexes over 10 million articles from a variety of different publications. • Find Law: A comprehensive site that provides information on legal issues organized by category. • HighWire: Brought to you by Stanford University, HighWire press provides access to one of the largest databases of free, full-text, scholarly content. • Infomine: A research database created by librarians for use at the university level. It includes both a browsable catalogue and searching capabilities. • Invisible Web Database: A database maintained by Chris Sherman and Gary Price, authors of the book Invisible Web, that provides a host of links to invisible web resources in a variety of categories. • MagPortal: A search engine that will allow you to search for free online magazine articles on a wide range of topics.

10. Double-Entry Notebook • You will use this to take notes on your research • Set up a section of your notebook in Cornell Note format • Write down your source information at the top of page in your notebook • Take notes from the source on the right-hand side • Save the left-hand side for making connections to your **thesis**

11. Lab Time Expectations • We will give you lab time as long as you use it wisely • You are to be productively researching and/or writing during lab time—this is NOT SOCIAL HOUR or time to catch up on other homework • ABSOLUTELY NO GAMES or OTHER DISTRACTING WEBSITES (one and done rule will apply here—do it once, and you have no lab time during EITHER class and will do alternative work instead)

12. SO…….. Let’s Begin!