Unit 2 Review

 

Types of Information

World Wide Web Sites

• vary in length, 
• can provide broad information/highlights on a topic, or they can focus on a specific aspect of a topic,
• can be very current if they're regularly updated,
• are available on practically any topic,
• are not necessarily reviewed by editors or subject specialists before being posted to the web, though some are. 

  

Books

• are usually long (sometimes a few hundred pages),
• can be very comprehensive, and cover many aspects of a topic,
• may not be as current as periodicals or web pages can be, due to the length of time it takes to get books published, 
• are typically reviewed by editors and subject specialists before being published,
• are frequently good sources for historical information,
• can put a topic in context

 

Periodical Articles (magazines, newspapers and journals.)

• are usually relatively short, but could be anywhere from a few paragraphs to 30 or 40 pages.
• tend to focus on a specific aspect of a topic; for example, a search for articles on the environment may get you articles on such topics as: baselines for carbon emissions in India and China, policies on wind power in different states, or environmental effects of electricity deregulation.
• can provide very current information. 
• are typically reviewed by editors and/or subject specialists before being published. 

 

Citing Your Sources

Citations tell the reader whose ideas you're using and where they came from.

Citations are also sometimes called references.

Citations include basic identifying information about your source, including:

• the name of the author,
• the title of the article, book chapter, or web page,
• the title of the periodical, book, or web site, and
• publication information (such as a publisher, page numbers, date of publication, and/or the URL).

Below are some examples of the specific format used in MLA and APA styles (pay close attention to the capitalization, punctuation and order). Move your mouse over each element for identifying information.

Books

MLA style:

Chinn, Mike.  "Illustrating the Script."  Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel: Everything You Need
       to Know to Create Great Graphic Works. Hauppage, NY:  Barron's, 2004.  70-113.

 

APA style:

Chinn, M.  (2004).  Illustrating the script.  Writing and illustrating the graphic novel: Everything you need
       to know to create great graphic works (pp. 70-113). Hauppauge, NY: Barron's.

 

Magazine Article

MLA style

Coulton, Antoinette Y.  "Name That Commercial Tune: These TV-Ad Tracks Are More Than Just
       Jingles."   People Weekly  22 Aug. 2005: 46.  Academic OneFile.  Thomson Gale.  Northern Virginia
       Community College Lib., Annandale, VA  2 Oct. 2006 <http://find.galegroup.com/itx>.

 

APA style

Coulton, A. Y.  (2005, August 22).  Name that commercial tune: These tv-ad tracks are more than just
       jingles.  People Weekly, 64, 46.  Retrieved October 2, 2006 from Academic OneFile database.

 

Web Page

MLA style

"Buddhism and the Environment: The Ethical Connection."  Earth Sangha.  2004.  3 Oct. 2006 
        <http://www.earthsangha.org/buddhism/ethical.htm>.

 

APA style

Buddhism and the environment: The ethical connection.  (2004).  Retrieved October 3, 2006
        from http://www.earthsangha.org/buddhism/ethical.htm

 

 Why cite?

• To give credit to the source where we found each piece of information we use in our research.
• Citations will let anyone reading your research know exactly where to find the original articles, books, or websites that you used.
• A list of citations can give strength and credibility to your research – they can show that other sources support your ideas.
• To avoid plagiarism.

 

When to cite:

• When quoting from a source,
• When summarizing or paraphrasing information from a source,
• When using statistics, facts, or other information that is not common knowledge.

You do NOT need to cite information that is common knowledge.

Online citation generators are not always correct, so be sure to doublecheck your citations against your citation manual or online citation sites:

1.      Style manuals

-          For MLA:  MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (call number LB2369 .G53 2003).

-          For APA:  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (call number BF76.7 .P83 2001.

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