Citing & Evaluating Sources

Citing Sources

When a writing assignment requires research, any information you quote, summarize or paraphrase (restating in your own words) in your paper must be acknowledged and documented with a citation.  Use a Citation Format (such as: MLA Format or APA Format) to document all of your information sources to avoid plagiarism (using the ideas or writings of another person as your own).  The following guides provide examples of how to cite information sources used in research.

MLA:
PCC Student Guide to the MLA Works Cited List

APA:
PCC Student Guide to the APA References List

Additional online resources for documenting and citing sources

Diana Hacker’s Research and Documentation Online: http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/

OWL at Purdue Updated MLA and APA Formatting and Style Guides – click on “Research and Citation” : http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl

Turnitin.com Research Resources “What is Plagiarism?” : http://www.turnitin.com/research_site/e_what_is_plagiarism.html

 

Evaluating Sources

When you use information for your research paper, you need to determine whether you can rely on the information, to identify its biases or limitations, and to see how or whether it fits into your overall research strategy. The following guides provide examples of how to evaluate information sources used in research.

Evaluating Periodicals:

• Evaluating Articles: What is a Scholarly Journal?  What is a Popular Magazine?  What is a Trade Journal? : http://camellia.shc.edu/literacy/tablesversion/lessons/lesson5/periodicals.htm

• Popular Vs. Scholarly Periodicals : http://guides.lib.msu.edu/page_print.phtml?page_id=32

Evaluating Websites:

• Evaluating Information on the web
• Evaluating Websites: PART of the Research Process: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/evaluation/edeval.htm
• Evaluating Sources: Its as easy as ABC.: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/evaluation/evaluate.htm
• Internet Realities (Kimbel Library, Coastal Carolina University): http://www.coastal.edu/library/reference/reality.html
• Judging Quality on the Web: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/url/referenc/judging.htm
• Who Dunnit? What kind of a Web page is this?: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/whodunnit/envhint.htm
• Evaluating Web Resources: http://www.nwmissouri.edu/library/courses/research/evaluate.htm