SOURCES

EVALUATION & NOTES

GENERAL EVALUATION
What to look for when evaluating a source: Relevance Credibility Dates

Think about who created/produced this information and why they did so. People produce and use information to their own benefit. This means most information comes with some of its creators enthusiasms, assumptions, and conscious or unconscious biases.

PRINT
When evaluating print sources, look for: Author & credentials, authors stance Publishers credentials & stance Date of publication

Accuracy, credibility, specificity, omission

Audience Length

ONLINE
When evaluating online sources, look for: Author (or organization) Credibility & stance Documentation of sources

Date & updates

Depending on your topic you may HAVE to use sources that do not meet all of these evaluative requirements, and thats generally going to be okay because of the topics youre researching, but when you take notes on these sources, pay attention to where their reliability is questionable and why.

GATHERING EVIDENCE
Your goal in this research paper is to introduce, establish, and support a claim in some way. You need to gather information from sources that will help you support your claim. One of the related assignments for this project is turning in four pages of notes. These can be typed (4 pages double spaced) or photocopies of handwritten notes (6 pages). The reason I am requiring you to turn in notes is so that you are moving through the research process at a good pace, AND so I have some of the same information you have about your topic. This will help me to be a more informed reader of your final paper.

NOTE-TAKING
There are countless ways to take research notes, so you should use the method you are most comfortable with and or that will be most useful to you. In Everythings an Argument, the text advocates for making notes on the following about each source:

Summarize main points & analyze how the points are made
Evaluate the effectiveness of the argument made Synthesize the results of your analysis & evaluation MOST IMPORTANT: Articulate what you think about the text/argument

NOTE-TAKING
Double-entry notes: You can divide your paper into two columns and transcribe notes on whatever you find useful or interesting in your text in the first column, and then providing your own thoughts/comments/opinions on that information in the second column. This method helps you to organize your own thoughts on your topic in relation to the thoughts of others.

NOTE-TAKING
REMINDERS: Dont only read sources that are in favor of your stance on your topickeep your research open to multiple viewpoints Pay attention to visual arguments in your sources and consider ways you might use images to supplement your research paper Meticulously document where you find your information WHEN YOU FIND ITthis is much easier than having to go back later and locate specific information within texts Make a note of the location of any images you think might be useful to you and your readers so that you can find and cite them later.