Evaluating and

citing

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Doreen Brown, MLIS

15 Feb. 2017

Objective

During this lesson we will discuss the four

standards of website evaluation; currency

and navigation, authority, accuracy, and

authors’ purpose.

Students will also learn how to correctly

cite on-line sources.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to critically evaluate a website. This will sometimes force you to do extra research. You will be able to apply this knowledge to internet use in the future. In addition, you will be able to create an MLA citation for a website.

Preview the site–

this can save you valuable time!

Take the time to read the website info on your search page.

AASL Standard 1.1.4: Find, Evaluate, and select appropriate sources.

English standard 2.4.5

Reference relevant primary, secondary,

and tertiary sources, demonstrating a

systematic search by including resources

that are written by authorities in the topic

area and written for an informed

audience in the field

Currency

Relevance

Accuracy

Authority

PurposeHTTP://LIBGUIDES.LIBRARY.NCAT.EDU/CONTENT.PHP?PID=53820&SID=394505

CURRENCY

How old is this

information?

date

• What is the copyright

date?

• Has the information

been revised or

updated?

• Is the information

current for your topic?

• Are the links

functional?

RELEVANCE Does the information answer

your question?

Is the information intended for

academic purposes?

Does it make sense to use this

as a source rather than some

other source?

the importance of the information for your needs.

Can I use this?AASL Standard: 1.1.5 Evaluate information found on the basis of accuracy and validity

Accuracy

Is the information

supported by evidence or

by what you already

know?

Is the information

verifiable?

Does the source present

more than one viewpoint?

Facts, not opinions

“I found the same facts in 2 or more places”

AASL Standard 1.1.7

Identify misconceptions, conflicting

information and point of view or bias

AASL 3.3.2

Respect differing interests and seek a variety

of viewpoints

Authority

Is the author qualified to

write about this topic?

Is the sponsor/publisher

reputable?

Does the URL or domain

suggest a credible source?

Why do you trust the accuracy?

English Standard 2.4.6:

Evaluate resources for their credibility, reliability, strengths, and limitations, using criteria appropriate to the discipline.

Wikis and blogs and

tweets This includes

Wikipedia, which

is NOT your best

choice.

Remember that it is hard to verify the

authority of these types of sites.

PurposeWhy did the author write/say

this?

Is the information intended to teach or inform rather than to persuade, entertain, or sell?

Is the information based on fact, rather than opinion or propaganda?

Is it objective and impartial?

CC:RI:6

Determine an author’s point of view

or purpose…

www.irc.vbschools.com

How can you determine the BIAS?

BUZZ WORDS / personal

In my opinion

In my experience

From what I observed

I think

You should

BUZZ WORDS / scholarly

The research indicates…

Our data is supported by

another study conducted

by ____.

What we discovered

AASL Standard 1.1.7 Identify misconceptions, conflicting information

and point of view or bias3.3.2 Respect differing interests and seek a variety of viewpoints

Currency - date

Relevance – can I use this?

Accuracy – facts, not opinions

Authority - .edu, .org, .gov

Purpose – why was this written?

MLA CITATION

Authors name. ”Document TItle”.

Container. Sponsor of website.

Copyright date. Medium. URL.

Date accessed.

The above is an example of a very basic electronic citation. It is taken from the

Authors name. ”Document title”. Title of website. Sponsor of website. Copyright date. Medium. URL. Date accessed.

The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008, owl.english.purdue.edu/owl. Accessed 23 Apr. 2008.

FOR EXAMPLE…

http://www.thecattlesit

e.com/breeds/dairy/

Brown Swiss

2014

↙ Document Title

Author →

↖ Copyright Date

↓ Container

↑ Sponsor of website

URL↓

5m Publishing

www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/dairy/31/brown-swiss/

Authors nameor

who said / wrote this?

Home or about us

Sometimes you have to go

through layers of web pages to

find this information. Many

times on web sites there is no

clearly defined author.

If there is no author, begin your

citation with the document

title.

Write it like this:

Last name, First Name.

“Document Title”

This is the page or article of a

website that you are actually

reading

Think of it as the primary holder

of the information

This is put into

quotation marks.

https://briarkitesme.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/quotemarks.png?w=636

Container

This is written in italics

http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/word2007_2010/images/crime/italic_icon_on.gif

This is the name of the

actual website

Sponsor of Website

This is who is behind

the website.

Why did they write it?

What is the purpose of

this website?

If the sponsor is the same

as the container, you leave

it off.

It only has to be written

once.

Copyright date

Use the most recent date given.

Look for words like updated,

modified, revised.

If you only have a year, that is all

you write.

Abbreviate the month to the first 3

letters.

Write it like this:

day month year

20 Apr. 2015

If there is no date, write it like this:

Medium

This is the format, or the type, of resource that you used.

The internet is noted as Web.

A print book is Print

A DVD is DVD

CC:RI:7 Analyze various accounts of a subject told in different mediums (print, web…)-

CC:W:7 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It is the address of a web

page. Each page has its own unique web address (URL). This is how

your computer locates the web page that you are trying to find.

It is written without the https://

So start with www.

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08

Date Accessed

This is the day that you looked at the website and

retrieved information.

This is not the copyright date of the website.

The date is written:

Accessed day month year

Brown Swiss

2014

↙ Document TitleAuthor →

↖ Copyright Date

↑ Container

↑ Sponsor of website

URL↓

Todays date

Date Accessed ↖

5M Publishing

www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/dairy/31/brown-swiss/

Authors name. ”Document title”. Title of website. Sponsor of website. Copyright date. Medium. URL. Date accessed.

“Brown Swiss”. The Cattle Site. 5M Publishing. 2014. Web.

www.thecattlesite.com/breeds/dairy/31/brown-swiss/. Accessed 15

Feb. 2017.

Remember that

every type of source

has its own citation

requirements. When

in doubt, go here:

https://owl.english.pur

due.edu/owl/section/

2/11/

To re-cap

What to look for

Currency

Relevance

Accuracy

Authority

Purpose

What to do with it

Do not plagiarize

Give credit where

credit is due

CITE YOUR SOURCE

and