Finding and evaluating your sources

Your readers will want to know where you got your information, so it’s important to keep track of your sources as you find them.

For each of your sources, record the author, title, and publication information.

You should also assign each source a number for your own reference..

Bullfinch, Thomas. The Age of Fable. New York, NY: Review of Reviews Company, 1999.

Finding and evaluating your sources

You can organize your source information on index cards like this one:

Along with the source number and publication information, write the location where the source was found and the book’s call number.

School Library115.22Bul

8

Bibliography card examples.

Jack Schaefer. SHANE. Bantam Books: New York, NY, 2012.

School LibraryFScha234.56

2

What is wrong with this bibliography card?

Schaefer, Jack. SHANE. New York, NY: Bantam Books, 1949.

School LibraryFScha234.56

2

The way it should look.

Twain, Mark. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”. The Perfection Form Company,.

School LibraryFTwa46.87

3

What is wrong with this bibliography card?

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Logan, Iowa: The Perfection Form Company, 1979.School LibraryFTwa46.87

3

The way it should look.

L’Engle, Madeleine. A Wrinkle in Time. New York, NY: Dell Publishing, 1962.School LibrarySETFL’Enc.1

1

This is how you’re A Wrinkle in Time bibliography card should look.

With your research questions before you, begin to gather information from your sources.

One way is to skimme each source and take notes when you find information that relates to your research questions.

Gathering your information

Keyword Source Number

Information from Source

Page Number

Gathering your information

Use note cards to record the information you find. For each note you record the source number and a keyword describing the card’s subject. For print sources, you also note the page number.

Disease Myth 2

“Forthwith escaped a multitude of plagues for hapless man, such as gout, rheumatism, and colic for his body, and envy, spite, and revenge for his mind.”

page 8

Gathering your information

Research papers often make use of direct quotations. Quotations are used when the exact words of the author are important.

Fire Myth 6

Prometheus was a Titan. The Greeks believed that Titans were giants who lived on earth long ago. Prometheus is credited with bringing fire from the Sun down to man.

page 13

Gathering your information

Paraphrasing is used when you want to explain an idea in detail. When you paraphrase, you use your own words to either restate or elaborate on a point.

A summary is a condensed version of a point or idea. Like a paraphrase, it is stated in your own words.

Fire Myth 4

The ancient Greeks also knew about fire, but their explanation of its origin was very different.

page 27

Gathering your information

“That’s one question I’ll never ask him…. There are some things you don’t ask a man. Not if your respect him…[T]hat when a man like Shane doesn’t want to tote a gun you can bet your shirt, buttons and all, he’s got a might good reason.”

2

What is wrong with this note card?What source is this note card from?

“That’s one question I’ll never ask him…. There are some things you don’t ask a man. Not if your respect him…[T]hat when a man like Shane doesn’t want to tote a gun you can bet your shirt, buttons and all, he’s got a might good reason.”

2

The way the note card should look.

Shane’s gun

Pg 38

Tesseract explain by Charles Wallace:1st dimension is a straight line,2nd dimension is a square3rd dimension is a cube or box4th dimension is squaring the square5th dimension is squaring the 4th dimension- this is a tesseract or a wrinkle in time.

Pg 77-78

1

This is an example of how you’re A Wrinkle in Time note card could look.

Tesseract