Credible and Reliable Sources
What items are considered secondary sources?
Comments on, interpretations of, and discussions about the original material.
What is a primary Source?
An original object or document--the raw material or first-hand information.
What are some examples of secondary sources?
Articles in magazines, popular magazines, book or movie reviews, textbooks, and articles found in scholarly journals that evaluate or criticize someone else's original research.
What should you do when checking for credibility?
Check the url (.gov or .edu); Check the sponsor (a university or government or medical agency; Can you identify the author?; Purpose (are they selling information or just talking?)
What should you look for when checking for accuracy?
Correctness, up to date (for what it is), spelling, and grammar mistakes.
What is CARS an acronym for when checking your resources?
Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, Support.
What is almost always the least reliable primary source?
Eye witness accounts.
What items are considered to be primary sources?
Historical and legal documents, results of an experiment, pieces of creative writing (diaries or journals), art objects, and eyewitness accounts.
What type of information is a secondary source (this is a sample)?
If I tell you something, I am the primary source. If you tell someone else what I told you, you are the secondary source.
Kind of Publication
Is it a scientific report, eye-witness account, a work of fiction?
What should you look for when checking for support?
Is it sponsored? Is there cited research evidence provided? Is there contact information?
Publication Date
Is the information current, or does it need to be current?
Reputation of Publication
Is the source well known and trustworthy?
What is a secondary source?
Something written about a primary source.
What should you look for when checking for reasonableness?
Tone (is it angry or whiny or professional?); Bias (does it lean more toward one side?); logic (does it make sense?).
