RESEARCHING & EVALUATING

Summer 2008Melanie WilsonAcademic Success CenterMSC 207

Introduction

Researching is a key component of academic success.

Understanding how to research, find, and evaluate information will help you in all of your classes and in life!

Objectives: In this presentation, I will:

Identify different types of resources Identify where to search Identify how to evaluate information

Truths about Researching

Researching is a multi-step process Researching takes times The SUCCESS of a research paper is

based on the quality of the information and sources you use.

It is nearly impossible to write a good paper with weak sources.

If you use strong resources – you’ll have a strong end product.

Types of Resources

Primary Sources First hand materials & documents

Examples: photographs, first hand newspaper articles, letters, diaries, speeches

Where can I find primary documents? Example:

Library of Congress Secondary Sources

Explain and comment on first hand sources Examples: books, articles, editorials,

reviews

Types of Resources

Peer-reviewed journals Articles from a peer-reviewed journal are

reviewed by a panel of experts before they are published for quality assurance.

Peer-reviewed articles can be found in research databases, such as Academic Search Complete.

Government documents The government publishes a wealth of

information, including legislation & statistics– most of which can be found online

Where to look for good info?

Government websites: U.S. Department of Heath & Human Service

s Federal Emergency Management Agency F

EMA Newspapers

Lexis-Nexis Academic Research Papers

Academic Search Complete

Searching the Net

The internet contains a wealth of information

Benefits: Easy to use Quickly updated & current Hub of multi-media

Weaknesses: Quality control Always changing

Internet Search Tools

If you must use the internet for research, these tools will help lead you to more reliable sources Google Scholar

Benefit: connects directly to Ohiolink

Google News Google Uncle Sam (Government

Documents) Google Books Wikipedia

Evaluating Resources

The most important part of research, especially on the web, is evaluation. As a researcher, you need to be able to distinguish the good from

the bad. Scope

What area does the site cover? Does it go into an appropriate amount of depth?

Currency Is the site recent?  Does it have a date listed?

Authority Who is the author or institution publishing the site?  What are their credentials?

Do they have expertise in the area? Accuracy

Does the information have an obvious bias? Does the information contain citations?

Quality Are there errors or spelling mistakes on the site? Is it well written?  Is it edited

or peer-reviewed?

•Quantity

•Make sure you have enough resources to:

•support your argument

•Include a variety of viewpoints and material

•Diversity

•Include a variety of sources

•Primary sources: contemporary accounts of an event and original documents

•Examples: letters, diaries, audio-recordings, newspaper articles

•Secondary sources: retrospective sources based on primary resources; include scholarly & scientific analysis

•Examples: books, articles, editorials, reviews, scientific studies

•Date of Publication

•For currents events research use current sources that reflect current attitudes

•For historical research use a variety of resources from different time periods

Building Good Research

Source: http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/libraryguide/evaluating.htm

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Web Resource Caution

When using the internet --- BE CRITICAL!

Find out who is behind a site? What is their motive? Who is sponsoring it? Who published the material?

An expert, a professor with a PhD, a professional?

More questions to ask…

•What is the tone?

•Who is the intended audience?

•What is the purpose of the publication?

•What assumptions does the author make?

•What are the bases of the author’s conclusions?

•Does the author agree or disagree with other authors of the subject?

•Does the content agree with what you know or have learned about the issue?

To verify this information look over the source’s documentation & citations.

Source: http://library.duke.edu/services/instruction/libraryguide/evaluating.htm

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Evaluating Websites

Are these websites… good or bad sources? http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/ http://www.martinlutherking.org

http://www.disasterplan.com/ http://www.disastercenter.com/ http://www.redcross.org/

5 Tips for Research Success

1. Start early2. Choose a strong topic3. Choose an appropriate database

for your topic1. Break you topic into main

ideas when searching4. Evaluate potential sources5. Cite any information that you

use!

Links to Research Tools

Tutorials of Researching: Online Tutorials: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10773 College Research: Transitioning to College: http://www.transitioning2college.org/

Resources & Databases for Research: Online Reference Shelf: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10113 Databases Alphabetical: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10078 Subject Guides: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10114

Resources for Evaluating: KSU library Evaluation Sheet & Criteria: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10475

Resources for Citing: REFWORKS: http://www.refworks.com/refworks Academic Success Center: http://www.kent.edu/asc/Cite.cfm Citing Resources: http://www.library.kent.edu/page/10603

Materials from today’s lecture are available at:http://www.kent.edu/asc/research.cfm

GOOD LUCK!

Remember to start early and take advantage of the library.

FIND, EVALUATE, USE, CITE

If you have any questions e-mail me at mawilson@kent.edu.