Media Center

How can you help improve your research skills?

- Use multiple sources that are relevant to the task and represent a wide range of views.  Make sure to use print and non-print sources.

- Evaluate the credibility of sources by considering the authority, the origin, type, context and corroborative value of each source.

- Learn to identify credible, relevant information contained in the sources.

- Use The Big6™ model to conduct your research.

 

The Big6™ Skills

The Big6 is a process model of how people of all ages solve an information problem. From practice and study, we found that successful information problem-solving (research!) encompasses six stages with two sub-stages under each:

1. Task Definition

1.1 Define the information problem

1.2 Identify information needed

2. Information Seeking Strategies

2.1 Determine all possible sources

2.2 Select the best sources

3. Location and Access

3.1 Locate sources (intellectually and physically)

3.2 Find information within sources

4. Use of Information

4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)

4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis

5.1 Organize from multiple sources

5.2 Present the information

6. Evaluation

6.1 Evaluate the product (effectiveness)

6.2 Evaluate the process (efficiency)

There is so much information available at the click of a button yet not all of this information is valid, useful, or accurate. Evaluating sources is one of the most important skills you can develop to help you with your class assignments now and in the future.  It is also a good skill to have in order to process the information you receive daily form various news sources.

A quick way to evaluate sources is to answer the following questions:

Who- Is the author qualified in the subject?  Is a biography included? Is there a sponsor and if so what are the goals?  Is it an official site or personal? What- What is the purpose of the site? What info is included and how is it different from other sites? Is it relevant to your need? When- Is there a date listed?  When was the information last revised?  Are links up to date? Does the topic require up to date information? Where- Where does the information come from?  Is it original information or reprinted from another source?

Why- Is this information better than other information found? Do conclusions seem based in fact or opinion?

 

 

Once you have selected sources using the quick evaluation method, you should use the following questions to further evaluate the source's reliability and usefulness.

Relevancy

• Does the source offer something unique on the topic?
• Is the information provided relevant to your information needed?
• Is the content appropriate to your proficiency level?

Authority

• What information is provided about the author’s credentials?
• Is the author qualified in the subject covered?
• Can the author be verified in a biographical source or Usenet search as an expert in the field?
• Is the author affiliated with a reputable institution or scholarly publisher?
• What are the goals/values of the sponsoring institution?
• Is the author mentioned in or linked from another trustworthy source?
• Is a web site part of an official site or on a personal account? Check for clues like a –in the URL

Accuracy

• How does the source compare with others on the topic?
• Can the information be verified in other sources?
• Is there a bibliography which indicates the author’s sources of information?
• Is the author’s methodology presented?
• Is the information original or reprinted/excerpted from another source?

Currency

• Is there a date listed for the information
• When was the information last revised? (View>Page Info.)
• How up-to-date are the links in a web site or the citations in a bibliography?
• Does the topic require very current information?
• Is an edition listed?

Point of View/Objectivity

• Who is providing the information and what is their purpose?
• What does the URL or server tell you about the site?
• Do the conclusions seem based in fact or opinion?

 

According to the CHS Academic Dishonesty Policy, plagiarism is "both a form of theft and of lying. It is the act of utilizing another person's work or ideas but representing them as one's own. Plagiarism may involve something as small as taking a sentence from a book and copying it without citing the source, or as substantial as using an online paper mill to obtain complete research papers."

For a more detailed definition of plagiarism read "What is Plagiarism."
To identify the numerous types of plagiarism read "Types of Plagiarism."

The following are sites students can work through individually to gain a better understanding of plagiarism.

http://library.acadiau.ca/tutorials/plagiarism/   

http://library.camden.rutgers.edu/EducationalModule/Plagiarism/   Amusing video presentation

http://www.lycoming.edu/library/instruction/tutorials/plagiarismGame.aspx   Plagiarism game  that provides immediate feedback to explain incorrect answers.

MLA Style is most commonly used by to write papers and cite sources by the within the liberal arts and the humanities.  The examples for the Works Cited page and in-text citations provided below reflect the MLA Handbook 8^th edition.

 For the Basic Format of the Works Cited page go to https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/.

To create the individual entries for the sources, you consult a list of core elements.  These elements are the general pieces of information that MA suggests including in each Works Cited entry.  In your citation, the elements should be listed in the following order:

1. Author.
2. Title of source.
3. Title of container,    (this is the larger whole in which the source is located)
4. Other contributors,
5. Version,
6. Number,
7. Publisher,
8. Publication date,
9. Location

Each element should be followed in the entry by the punctuation mark used in the above list.

Works Cited Page Entry Examples

Print Sources

Basic Book Format
Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Publication Date.
Example:
Tannen, Deborah. The Argument Culture: Moving from Debate to
Dialogue. Random, 1998.

When a book has multiple authors, order the authors in the same way they are presented in the book. The first given name appears in last name, first name format; subsequent author names appear in first name last name format.

If there are three or more authors, list only the first author followed by the phrase et al. (Latin for "and others") in place of the subsequent authors' names. (Note that there is a period after “al” in “et al.” Also note that there is never a period after the “et” in “et al.”).

Format for an Article in a Reference Book (e.g. Encyclopedias, Dictionaries)
For entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference works, cite the piece as you would any other work in a collection but do not include the publisher information. Also, if the reference book is organized alphabetically, as most are, do not list the volume or the page number of the article or item.
Example:
"Ideology." The American Heritage Dictionary. 3rd ed., 1997.

Format for an Article in a Magazine or Newspaper
Cite by listing the article's author, putting the title of the article in quotations marks, and italicizing the periodical title. Follow with the date of publication. Remember to abbreviate the month.
Examples:
Poniewozik, James. "TV Makes a Too-Close Call." Time, 20 Nov. 2000, pp. 70-71.

Brubaker, Bill. "New Health Center Targets County's Uninsured Patients." Washington Post, 24 May 2007, p. LZ01.

Online Sources
Important Note on the Use of URLs in MLA
Include a URL or web address to help readers locate your sources. Because web addresses are not static (i.e., they change often) and because documents sometimes appear in multiple places on the web (e.g., on multiple databases), MLA encourages the use of citing containers such as Youtube, JSTOR, Spotify, or Netflix in order to easily access and verify sources. However, MLA only requires the www. address, so eliminate all https:// when citing URLs.

Many scholarly journal articles found in databases include a DOI (digital object identifier). If a DOI is available, cite the DOI number instead of the URL.

Online newspapers and magazines sometimes include a “permalink,” which is a shortened, stable version of a URL. Look for a “share” or “cite this” button to see if a source includes a permalink. If you can find a permalink, use that instead of a URL.

Go to https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/ for examples of the format for a variety of online sources.

 

In-Text Citation Format

Go to https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ for examples of the format for in-text citations. 

 

from:
Russell, Tony, et al. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 27 Jan. 2017.

 

APA Style Citations

The APA (American Psychological Association) Style is used by the Social Sciences to cite sources and format papers.  At Century, this style is used in many of the Social Studies classes.  For a full explanation of APA Style, go to the Purdue OWL site for APA guidelines.