researching & evaluating summer 2008 melanie wilson academic success center msc 207
TRANSCRIPT
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 [email protected].