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The Re(Searching) Process: Evaluating Resources

This guide was created to help high school students, new CBU students, and community members with searching for resources (with open access and open education), evaluating various resources, and building citation skills (using MLA).

Evaluating Sources

Check the Website's URL

.com (Commercial) Commercial sites, business information, shopping, news
.edu (Education) School information, links to libraries and departments
.gov (Government) Statistics, public information, facts, agency, databases
.org (Organization) Non-profit organization, interest group agencies, may try to influence public opinion
.net (Network) Internet service provider, often sponsors personal sites

 

Reading Books, Articles and other Electronic Sources

The Structure of a Scholarly (Academic) Article

This is an example of a structure of an academic scholarly paper, though there may be variations: 

Abstract Summarizes the content within the paper and sometimes outlines keywords in the paper
Introduction Introduces a problem and provides a solution to that problem, whether it is a new idea or a plan of action. Also, it outlines the structure of the paper
Literature Review Identifies past and current research on the topic and any gaps in the existing knowledge
Methodology Explains what method the author(s) chose for conducting their study (e.g. Case studies, personal reflections, surveys/questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, etc.)
Results Explains the results of the study
Discussion & Conclusion Interprets the results, discusses the limitations of the method that they used, and/or makes recommendations based on their findings

 

The Continuum of Credibility

"The Continuum of Credibility." University of Colorado: Colorado Springs, 13 May 2022, https://libguides.uccs.edu/c.php?g=374741&p=2535444. Accessed 23 January 2023.