Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Source Validity
There are four ways to evaluate sources: credibility of the author, validity of the research, currency of
the research, and relevance of articles and web sites to your topic.
Authority of the Author: Determine the authority of the author
q Author is formally educated on the subject
q Author may work for a university or research center
q Author is a recognized scholar in the subject
q Author has an established history of research and writing on the subject
q Work is published or sponsored by a reputable organization
Validity of the Research: Determine the validity of the research being presented
q Author’s sources are clearly indicated and verifiable
q There is a works cited page
q Author uses primary and secondary sources
q Author’s evidence supports his/her claim
q Author’s uses objective research rather than personal narrative
q Author offers sound reasons for adopting an opinion
q Publication was reviewed by experts before publication
q Information is correct according to your previous readings and understandings
q Consider the intended audience: style, level of information, and author assumptions about reader.
q Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints? (Author Bias)
q Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter?
Currency: Determine the currency of the information provided
q The source is timely (Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other
older sources of information can be quite sound 50 or 100 years later.)
q The author’s sources are current
Relevance to Your Topic: Determine the article's relevance to your topic
q If the article is broad, its conclusions can be applied to fit your subject (e.g. an article about
drinking habits of students at large universities applies to your subject of drinking habits of CU
students)
q If the article is narrow, its conclusions can be generalized to fit your subject (e.g. an article about
volleyball players and eating disorders at Honalee State University can be applied to your subject
of eating disorders in women college athletes.)
Information adapted by D. Munther from The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University; MLA Handbook;
(http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/how/evaluate.htm)
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Print vs. Internet Sources
Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section
provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading
evaluation, print vs. Internet sources, and evaluating internet sources.
Publication Process
Print
Internet
Go through an extensive publication process
Anyone can publish a website or electronic
that includes editing and article review.
document. Most web documents do not have
Process has fact-checkers, multiple reviewers,
editors, fact-checkers, or other types of
and editors to ensure quality of publication.
reviewers.
Authorship and Affiliations
Print
Internet
Clearly indicate who the author is, what
Difficult to determine on the Internet in many
organization(s) he or she is affiliated with, and cases. Many sites absent of this.
when his or her work was published.
Sources and Quotations
Print
Internet
External sources of information and direct
May not be clearly indicated in an Internet
quotations are clearly marked and identified
source
Bias and Special Interests
Print
Printing is expensive and difficult to
accomplish. Most major publishers are out to
make a profit and will either not cater to
special interest groups or will clearly indicate
when they are catering to special interest
groups.
Internet
Purpose of online text may be misleading. A
website that appears to be factual may actually
be persuasive and/or deceptive.
Author Qualifications
Print
Internet
Only qualified authors are likely to have their
Even if the author and purpose of a website can
manuscripts accepted for publication.
be determined, the qualifications of the author
are not always given.
Publication Information
Print
Internet
Publication information such as date of
Questionable. Dates listed could be the date
publication, publisher, author, and editor are
posted, date updated, or a date may not be
always clearly listed in print publications.
listed at all.
Source: Driscol, Dana Lynn and Allen Brizee. The Writing Lab. The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University.
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Note-Taking
Every researcher has a unique way of documenting and recording notes. No matter what,
always include a complete bibliography on each research log. Include a page number after each
individual bullet-point.
Types of Note-Taking
• Summary: Summarize general ideas of large amounts of material, like chapters or entire
works.
• Paraphrase: Paraphrase (restate the material in your own words) for detailed notes on
specific sentences and passages for which you do not need exact wording.
• Quotation: Use direct quotations whenever you believe that a passage in its original wording
will make a positive difference in your paper. Make sure to transcribe the quote exactly as it
appears, including all wording and punctuation.
Page Numbers
Always record page numbers or other numbered sections (ex. numbered paragraphs in an
electronic text or line numbers in a poem) for bullet-point of information. If a quote continues
onto another page or section, be sure to indicate where the page/section break occurs. You will
need to know this in case you only use part of this information in your research project.
Strategies for Note-Taking
1) Research Log: Document your research journey with a log. Use a log to keep track of your
search terms, dates, where you found the source, notes on the source, and your source’s
usefulness.
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Documentation Overview
In MLA documentation style, you acknowledge your sources by keying brief parenthetical
citations in your text to an alphabetical list of works that appears at the end of the paper. For
example:
The aesthetic and ideological orientation of jazz underwent considerable scrutiny in the late
1950s and early 1960s (Anderson 7).
The citation “(Anderson 7)” tells readers that the information in the sentence was derived from
page 7 of a work by an author named Anderson. If readers want more information about this
source, they can turn to the works-cited list, where, under the name Anderson, they would find
the more detailed information.
Author
Title of work
Anderson, Iain. This Is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture.
Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2007. Print. The Arts and Intellectual Life in Mod.
Amer.
City of publication
publisher
Date of
publication
print publication
From this book
series publication
Excerpt adapted from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Parenthetical Citations
1. If the author’s name is mentioned in the text, then do not also include it in the parenthetical
citation.
Tannen has argued this point (18-25). Vs. This point has already been argued (Tannen 18-25).
2. When a work is listed by title in your works cited page (no author is available), then use the
first word by which you alphabetized the citation.
Parenthetical Citation:
International espionage was as prevalent as ever in the 19902 (“Decade”) .
Works Cited:
“Decade of the Spy.” Newsweek 7Mar. 1994: 26-27. Print.
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Works Cited
Your Works Cited is your final list of all the works you parenthetically cite within your essay.
Where does the Works Cited go?
At the end of your paper, continuing the page numbers of the text.
How are entries arranged in a Works Cited?
Arrange in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If an author’s last name is unkown,
alphabetize by title (ignore A, An, or The)
How is a Works Cited Formatted?
See Fig. 12 below.
from MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
MLA Citation Guide
I. Print Sources
Book---One Author
Last, First. Title. City: Publisher, date. Medium of publication consulted.
Gibson, William Merriam. The Art of Mark Twain. New York: Oxford UP, 1976. Print.
Book—Two or Three Authors
Last, First, First Last, and First Last. Title. City: Publisher, date. Medium of publication
consulted.
Appleby, Joyce, Lynn Hunt, and Margaret Jacob. Telling the Truth about History. Urbana:
U of Illinois P, 1909. Print.
New York:Author
Norton, 1994.
Book—Unknown
Title. City: Publisher, date. Medium of publication consulted.
The New York Ties Atlas of the World. New York: New York Times, 1980. Print.
Article in a Reference Book (Encyclopedia)
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Reference Work. Date. Medium of publication consulted.
Johnson, Peder J. “Concept Learning.” Encyclopedia of Education. 1971.
Article in a Scholarly Journal
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume: issue number (date of publication): pages.
Medium of publication consulted.
Payne, Brian K. and Melvina Sumter. “College Students’ Perceptions about Career Fairs:
What They Like, What They Gain and What They Want to See.” College Student
Journal 39.2 (2005): 269-76. Print.
Article in a Newspaper
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Newspaper Title. Date of publication. Edition. Page numbers.
Medium of publication consulted.
Daragahi, Borzou. “The World; Column One; A Tragic Test Case in Iraq; Hussein's first trial
centers on an alleged campaign of ruthless retaliation against an entire town after an
attempt on his life.” Los Angeles Times14 Aug. 2003, home ed., A1+. Print.
MLA Citation Guide adapted from J. Adams
Research Guide
Created by D. Munther
English I
Government Publication
Government Agency. Title of Document. City: Publisher, date.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to
1870. Washington: GPO, 1975.
II. Electronic Sources
Website
Last, First of Author. “Title of Article or Work.” Title of Overall Webpage. Publisher or Sponsor
of the site (if not available, use “N.p.”). Date of publication/ last update (day, month,
and year, as available—if nothing is available, use “n.d.”). Medium of publication. Date
of access (day month, year.)<URL>.
Roosevelt, Franklin. “Radio Address by the President of the United States Broadcast from the
White House, on Tuesday, December 9, 1941.” The Avalon Project: Documents in
Law, History and Diplomacy. Yale Law School, 2008. Web. 8 July, 2009. <provide
URL here>.
Lessig, Lawrence. “Free Debates: More Republicans Call on RNC.” Lessig 2.0. N.p., 4 May
2007. Web. 20 July 2007. <insert URL here>.
Liu, Alan. Home page. Voice of the Shuttle. Dept. of English, U of California, Santa Barbara,
n.d. Web 15 May 2008. <insert URL here>.
Google Book
Last, First. Title of Book. City: Publisher, dates. Google Book Search. Web. Date of access.
<URL>.
Norton, Henry K. The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present. Chicago:
A.C. McClurg & Co, 1913. Google Book Search. Web. 9 July, 2009. <provide URL
here>.
Article from an Online Database
Last, First. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume: issue number (date of publication): pages.
Name of Database. Medium of publication consulted. Date accessed.
Payne, Brian K. and Melvina Sumter. “College Students’ Perceptions about Career Fairs:
What They Like, What They Gain and What They Want to See.” College Student
Journal 39.2 (2005):269-76. Academic Search Elite. Web. 31 Oct. 2005
MLA Citation Guide adapted from J. Adams
Research Guide
Created by D. Munther
English I
Online Scholarly Project
Title of Website. “Article Name.” Name of the Editor (if given). Date of Publication or latest
update. Date of Access. Medium of publication consulted. <URL>.
The Orlando Project: An Integrated History of Women’s Writing in the British Isles.
“Virginia Woolf.” Ed. Paul Dyck and Cathy Grant. 6 Apr. 2000. U of Alberta. Web.
17 Apr. 2000 <http://www.ualberta.ca/ORLANDO/>.
Online Magazine/News Source
Last, First. “Title.” Source Date. Date Accessed. Medium of publication consulted. <URL>.
Gawande, Atul. “Drowsy Docs.” Slate 9 Oct. 1997. 10 Oct 1997 Web.
<http://www.slate.com/MedicalExaminer/97-10-09/MedicalExaminer.asp>.
III. Interviews
Personal Interview
Last, First of person interviewed. Type of Interview (Personal interview, telephone interview,
webcam interview, etc.). Date.
Beja, Morris. Personal interview. 2 Oct. 2001.
Published/Broadcast Interview
Last, First of person interviewed. Interview. Source. Location. Date. Medium of Publication.
Schorr, Daniel. Interview. Weekend Edition. Natl. Public Radio. WEVO, Concord.
26 Mar. 1988. Radio.
Online Interview
Last, First of person interviewed. Interview. Source. Location. Date. Date accessed. Web.
<URL>.
Schorr, Daniel. Interview. Weekend Edition. Natl. Public Radio. WEVO, Concord.
26 Mar. 1988. 30 April 2011. Web. <URL.>
IV. Films
Film
Title. Director. Main Actors. Studio, Year.
Face/Off. Dir. John Woo. Perf. John Travolta and Nicholas Cage. Paramount, 1997.
MLA Citation Guide adapted from J. Adams
Created by D. Munther
English I
Research Guide
Television or Radio Program
Title. Narrator. Writer. Director. Source (Channel or Program). Date.
Box Office Bombshell: Marilyn Monroe. Narr. Peter Graves. Writ. Andy Thomas,
Jeff Schefel, and Kevin Burns. Dir. Bill Harris. A&E Biography. Arts and
Entertainment Network. 23 Oct. 1997.
V. Online Visual Art
Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Image (or description). Year or Date
Created. Title of Complete Site. Date you viewed it. Web. <URL>.
“Dutch Jews wearing prison uniforms marked with a yellow star and the letter ‘N,’ for
Netherlands, stand at attention during a roll call at the Buchenwald concentration
Camp.” 28 Feb 1941. History 1900s. 29 Jan 2009. Web.
<http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blprisoner15.htm>.
MLA Citation Guide adapted from J. Adams