Dont Listen to the Village Idiot

Definition:1.capable of being believed; believable: a credible statement. 2.worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy: a credible witness.

Credibility is important!If your research is flawed, so is your argument.If you use credible sources, you can believe them, and your readers can believe you.

Most books you find in library nonfiction are credible.Most large newspapers are credible.New York TimesCharlotte ObserverWashington PostScholarly journals are usually credible.JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association)Most government publications are credible.Reputable organizations are usually credible.American Cancer SocietyWorld Health OrganizationAmerican Red CrossMost information from colleges is credible..edu websites

You can automatically rule out:WikipediaMyspaceGeocitiesBlogsFriendsterPersonal sites

The internet offers the BEST information on MANY topics.

The internet offers the WORST information on MOST topics.

You can use internet resources for research papers, but you have to be careful.

Ways to tell a credible internet source:Looks professionalThe website doesnt look like it was made by a 4-year-old with a crayonAll or most links are workingInformation offered is easy to verifyThe website offers links to where they found their informationThe sources of their information is also credible

It is easy to contact the owners of the website for more information or to ask questionsThe site is up to dateInformation from 1991 is not listed as recentThere are no errorsThe site uses proper spelling and grammarThe website is appropriateThere is no inappropriate language, graphics, or photos

These guidelines are not 100%When in doubt, ask for help from a teacher or librarianIf youre still not sure, DONT use itBe careful with .com sitesAll .com sites are trying to sell something, which means they are all biased in some waySites with lots of advertisements are usually less credible

Its not as hard as it used to be.

If you use ANY information from a source in your paper, you must CITE it.Works Cited PageIn-Text CitationsIf you didnt say it yourself and you dont cite it, it is plagiarism.Plagiarism can result in:A zero for the assignmentA requirement to redo the entire assignmentIn college, plagiarism may fail you for an entire courseIn college, plagiarism may result in expulsion, with no tuition refund

Is much easier to spot than it used to be

Doesnt take very long for a teacher to checkA teacher can type 10 words of your paper into a search engine, and within seconds, compare it to tens of thousands of other papers that have already been written

Is easy to avoidCitation makersMLA style sheets

Citation makers will write your works cited page for you if you have the right information on your sourcesBooks, articles, and websites are all cited differentlyThe more information you have, the betterWhen you find a source that you think you can use, you need to make sure you have several things

Your checklist:AuthorTitlePublication companyPublication locationPublication datePage numbersDate accessed onlineEditorENTIRE web addressYou might not always be able to find all of this information, but get as much as you can.

Go to Son of Citation Machine or Easy Bibhttp://citationmachine.net/http://www.easybib.com

Click on MLA at the top left of the page.Click on the type of source you want to cite.Fill in the boxes for your source.Click Submit. Voila! Your citation is written.

If you dont ask, youll never know.

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