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Week 2 Discussion: "How Can I find What I'm Looking for?"

resource posted by Mindy

Evaluating web pages skillfully requires you to do two things at once: Train your eye and your fingers to employ a series of techniques that help you quickly find what you need to know about web pages; Train your mind to think critically, even suspiciously, by asking a series of questions that will help you decide how much a web page is to be trusted. This page is organized to combine the two techniques into a process that begins with looking at your search results from a search engine or other source, follows through by investigating the content of page, and extends beyond the page to what others may say about the page or its author(s).

link from our video for week 2

The world is full of information to be found--however, not all of it is valid, useful, or accurate. Evaluating sources of information that you are considering using in your writing is an important step in any research activity.

A style guide is a book that outlines the "rules" necessary to follow for any one kind of writing. These rules may be about simple things like grammar and punctuation, or more substantive questions about citation, layout, or format. Some guides may also speak to style elements such as tone and voice.

Week 2 Discussion: "How Can I find What I'm Looking for?"

Resource posted by Mindy

You can begin evaluating a physical information source (a book or an article for instance) even before you have the physical item in hand. Appraise a source by first examining the bibliographic citation. The bibliographic citation is the written description of a book, journal article, essay, or some other published material that appears in a catalog or index. Bibliographic citations characteristically have three main components: author, title, and publication information. These components can help you determine the usefulness of this source for your paper. (In the same way, you can appraise a Web site by examining the home page carefully.)