CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND EVALUATING SOURCES

The Research Process Once you have chosen your topic, you need to

come up with some type of research question you want to answer and then form a hypothesis about the answer.

This will help you develop your thesis. What is the question you want to answer? What

type of things did you find yesterday that you may want to include in your paper?

How many and what kind of sources do you need? CP: You need at least four different sources; one must

be a book, and one must be an internet source.

Primary and Secondary Sources

Primary Sources: first-hand knowledge Examples: original documents, creative works,

relics or artifacts, interviews you conduct Specific examples? Diaries; novels and

art; pottery Secondary Sources: information available

from the research of others Specific examples? Textbooks,

encyclopedias, magazine articles

Research Strategy Ask yourself the following questions:

What type of source do you need? Secondary

What kinds of sources do you need? Books, Encyclopedias, internet sources

How current do your sources need to be? Science: current sources are important History: older sources are helpful So how current do your sources need to be?

Evaluating Print Sources Evaluating sources is important for library

and online research. For print sources, ask yourself these

questions: Is the source closely related to your research

question? Is the author an expert on the topic? What is the

author’s position on the topic? Who is the publisher? Are they scholarly,

commercial, or interest? What is the date of publication? What is the length and availability?

Evaluating the Content Read the Preface (Are you the intended

audience?) Browse through the Table of Contents and

the Index (Do you know the difference?) Look for citations that could lead you to

other sources Is the content opinion, fact, or

propaganda? Check for accuracy. The easiest way to

do this is cross-reference it with another source.

Evaluating Electronic Sources

What can you determine about the credibility of the author?

Are there links to other sites? Are these credible?

How current is the site? Is the site user-friendly? How accurate is the information? Is it

just the author’s opinions? Can the information on the site be

verified?

Evaluating Electronic Sources cont.

Look for these extensions: . gov is information posted by a government

agency or group. .edu is an educational source. These are usually

okay, but this site could have been created by a second grade classroom or a college professor, so you still have to verify the information.

.org is a non-profit organization. Watch for bias since they may be sponsoring a cause.

.com is a business, but sites such as www.cnn.com and www.washingtonpost.com are reliable.

.net indicates a variety of organizations that offer Internet sources.

Wikipedia Some of you may have questions about

Wikipedia. You may not use it as one of your

sources, BUT… You can use it to help you lead to

information. For example, if you want to just read the

article about Athena, and you find that her birth story is interesting, just look for the information in another source and use that one as your source.

Let’s Look at Some http://www.greek-gods.info/ http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myt

hs/greek_goddess_athena.htm http://www.pantheon.org http://www.mythweb.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythol

ogy http://www.universalclass.com/i/crn/3195

8.htm?gclid=CNqy8p3W05kCFRpN5QodpDEpVw

http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/introduction.html

Quick Quiz 1 1. For a research paper on the history of

lacrosse: A. www.lacrosse.com (home page of Great

Atlantic Lacrosse Company, featuring lacrosse equipment)

B. www.lacrosse.org (home page of the US Lacrosse, governing body of men’s and women’s lacrosse in the United States)

C. www.lacrosseuniversity.com (Website of Lacrosse University)

D. www.warriorlacrosse.com (Website of manufacturer of lacrosse equipment and clothing)

Quick Quiz 2 For a research paper on Ansel Adam’s

photographs in Yosemite National Park: A. www.nps.gov/yose/nature/articles/adams.htm

(Yosemite National Park Website article about Adams’ special relationship with Yosemite)

B. http://thinkexist.com/quotes/ansel_adams (quotations by Ansel Adams)

C. www.anseladams.com (Website of Ansel Adams Gallery, which sells photos, posters, books; several pages of biography; bibliography)

D. www.ncsu.edu/project/farkas/yosemite.html (Adams’ photograph of El Capitan and Half Dome with very brief quotations by Adams)