Effective Research
Everything from reliable sources to proper citation format!
Reliable Sources
- .org
- .edu
- .gov
Some other things to take into consideration when trying to find a reliable source are
- The author
2. Purpose
Does this site have any reason to only give you one side of the story, or only certain information? Does the site have any sponsors that would make them only give you one side of the story?
3. Ads
Does this site have a lot of ads? Are the ads relevant with the topic in which you are reading on?
As far as finding online sources go, though, databases are your best bet. Databases are a more filtered version of Google, so that you know all of the facts on there are true, and up to date. Some examples of good databases can be found below.
- http://web.a.ebscohost.com/web/src_ic/home
- http://www.worldbookonline.com.proxy.mcpl.lib.mo.us/kids/home?subacct=M2192
- http://library.eb.com.proxy.mcpl.lib.mo.us/levels/children
Your public library will also have a list of databases that you can also use, as long as you have a library card. Your school might have a universal one for all students to use, or you may need to get one yourself.
Citing Your Soucre
Below is a picture of what the MLA format should look like for your the source that you are citing, and what it should include.
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It
There are ways to avoid this, however, and these including using citations, (in text or in your bibliography). These we have mention above. But there are some other ways, too. These are quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing.
Quoting
Quoting is where you take what the author said, word for word, and put it straight into your text. You must follow a specific format, though. For example, say you were researching Abraham Lincoln, and wanted to put the following text from a source into your article. You can think of no better way to reword it, so you decide to quote.
It is said that as a lawyer, young Abraham Lincoln often used his iconic stovetop hat to store important papers.
First, you need to put quotation marks around it.
"It is said that as a lawyer, young Abraham Lincoln often used his iconic stovetop hat to store important papers."
You are still not done, however. Next, you must cite your source in text, for using their work word for word. This requires you to use the author's name, and the page number. This should be in parenthesis.
"It is said that as a lawyer, young Abraham LIncoln often used his iconic stovetop hat to store important papers." (Hist O. Ree, 1)
You cannot, however, use too many quotes, or else that can also be considered plagiarism, for all of your work is the author's words. The maximum ratio of quotes to your own thoughts and ideas should never exceed 50% on the quotes side.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is when you take the author's words, and change them to synonyms, and rearrange the wording so that the text gets across all of the same points, but cannot be mistaken for the author's work. Let's use the example of the Abraham Lincoln fact again.
It is said that as a lawyer, young Abraham Lincoln often used his iconic stovetop hat to store important papers.
Let's see what words we can't change. These include names, dates, places, and other proper nouns. For our example, the only thing we absolutely cannot change is the name Abraham Lincoln. All the other words can and should be changed and rearranged. For example:
Important files and stationery were often hidden in the depths of the top hat perched on young Abraham Lincoln's head.
Summarizing
Last but not least, we can summarize. That's where you take the main ideas of an article and compress it so that it only addresses the key points. Let's take this paragraph from the Tell Tale Heart, by Charles Dickens.
I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up the bed listening, -just and I have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches in the wall."
What are the main points, or things that are happening in this paragraph?
- 1 hour of waiting
- The man did not lay down
- Both characters were listening to the death watches.
The man did not lay down in the entirety of the hour, for which I sat in silence. He too, I could tell, was listening to the death omen upon us.
Keywords
- what
- is
- the
- score
- of
- Kansas
- City
- Chiefs
- football
- game
Instead, we should try pulling out just a few words that describe the main idea of what I want to know about. In this scenario, we might use:
- score
- Kansas
- City
- Chiefs
- game