Grace Thompson

UL100E

Art Gutierrez

6 October 2019

Evaluation of Sources

Source 1: ​Website

https://bigcatswildcats.com/asiatic-wildcat/

Citation:

“Asiatic Wildcat.” ​Bigcatswildcats.com​, BigCatsWildCats,

https://bigcatswildcats.com/asiatic-wildcat/.

1. Relevancy: This source provides a description of basic information of asiatic wildcats. It

could be considered a Background source because it gives facts about asiatic wildcats

and is an Exhibit source because it presents data on asiatic wildcat size ranges. I find

this source’s description of the asiatic wildcats’ coloring to be in good detail, which I feel

is relevant.

2. Accuracy: The information in this source is presented as fact. I could not find any errors

in this source. I don’t detect any biases or other indications that this information is false.

3. Currency: I couldn’t find an exact publication date for this source, but it looks pretty

recent. I think the fact that I couldn’t find an exact year questions the relevancy a little,

but not enough for me to be overly concerned about it.

4. Authority: This webpage was published to connect individuals interested in wildcats of all

sizes with organizations fighting to prevent wildcat extinction. The entire website

describes itself as a directory of wild cats and provides information on wild cats both
 large and small. This website cares about wild cat conservation and informing people

about wild cats.

5. Purpose: I believe this website’s main purpose is to inform, and more specifically, this

page is informative. I see no evidence of important data being purposely omitted. This

website’s intended audience is people who want to know about different types of wild

cats and their conservation.

6. Rating: I would give this source a 3.5 rating. I like the information this source gives,

although I might be a little biased since this is the cite I chose what wildcat to research. It

loses some points due to the lack of specific dates or references that could find.

Source 2:​ Website

http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=102

Citation:

Programmierung: Netboot Internet Solutions, www.netboot.ch. “Asiatic Wildcat.” ​CatSG​,

Species

Survival Commission, 2018, http://www.catsg.org/index.php?id=102.

1. Relevancy: This source gives a lot of information about asiatic wildcats, including habitat,

distribution, ecology, behavior, and threats. I would consider this to be a Background

source because of the information it provides on asiatic wildcats, an Exhibit source

because it shows pictures of asiatic wildcats and their habitat and range, and gives data

on their lifespan, litter size, and other things, and I would consider it an Argument source

because it talks about threats to asiatic wildcats, conservation efforts, and protection

status. This source provides a lot of helpful information that supports multiple points of

my research.
 2. Accuracy: This website includes a list of references of where it got its information from,

which means they’re ready to prove that the information it provides is accurate. The only

possible bias that I can detect is that this source seems concerned with the population

status of asiatic wildcats. The information is presented as fact, although it does mention

that some information is unavailable.

3. Currency: The most recent reference is dated in 2017, implying that this was published

sometime after that. This means that the information in this source is up to date, making

it relevant. I’d say that since this was published within the last two years at most, it’s

trustworthy in terms of having up to date information.

4. Authority: This article looks to be published by the Species Survival Commission,

specifically the Cat Specialist Group. The list of references gives the author authority, as

it proves that the author did their research. I believe that the website that this webpage

was on has authority because the organization is about biodiversity and the inherent

value of species.

5. Purpose: This website’s purpose is to inform, just about anyone, and is supported by the

IUCN. The information is clearly presented and organized into clear categories. The only

information the author does not provide is because there is no data currently available

for it.

6. Rating: I would give this source a 4 rating. This source provides a lot of good information

that I think will be helpful. The fact that it provided references is helpful and gives it extra

points.

Source 3:​ Social Media

https://earthcats.tumblr.com/post/41626781245/as-of-2005-there-are-22-subspecies-of-wil

dcat

Citation:

Earthcats. “As of 2005, There Are 22 Subspecies of Wildcat... -.” ​Earthcats,​ Tumblr, 27 Jan.

2013,

https://earthcats.tumblr.com/post/41626781245/as-of-2005-there-are-22-subspecies-of-

wildcat.

1. Relevancy: This is the best social media source I could find, so I think it’s relevant

enough. I’d say this is a Background source, because it gives facts about how often they

used to be hunted and what countries they occupy.

2. Accuracy: The author provides a number of asiatic wildcat pelts once found at a Kabul

bazaar to support their claim that hunting is one of the biggest threats to asiatic wildcats.

I don’t detect any faulty reasoning or unsupported claims. The information is presented

as fact, although I could not find any citations.

3. Currency: This post was published in January 2013, which isn’t within the last five years,

but I would say that it’s close enough. However, I don’t think that makes this source any

less relevant. Asiatic wildcats aren’t as popular for research as other wildcats, so I think

something in the last ten years is pretty good.

4. Authority: The blog I found this post on seems to be dedicated to posting facts about

cats. Since this is a post on social media, it can be harder to establish authority, so I’m

not sure if this source has enough authority. This author credits the photos they use, and

I think that gives them some credit.

 5. Purpose: The author’s purpose it to inform. The information is clearly presented, but

admittedly, there isn’t a whole lot. The intended audience is people on Tumblr who want

to know about wild cats.

6. Rating: I’d give this source a 2 rating. This source gives some good information, but

since it’s a social media post and the focus isn’t entirely on asiatic wildcats, I can’t give it

too much credit. I’m keeping this source since we had to do our best to find a source

from social media and this is what I found, but that’s about it.

Source 4:​ Scholarly Article

New Record of the Asiatic Wildcat (Felis Silvestris Ornata Gray 1830) in Northeastern Anatolia

Citation:

GÜNDOĞDU, E., et al. “New Record of the Asiatic Wildcat (Felis Silvestris Ornata Gray 1830) in

Northeastern Anatolia.” ​Applied Ecology & Environmental Research,​ vol. 16, no. 5, Nov.

2018, pp. 6779–6785. ​EBSCOhost​, doi:10.15666/aeer/1605_67796785.

1. Relevancy: This article is about asiatic wildcat distribution in Turkey. It’s considered a

Method source because it talks about how data on asiatic wildcat distribution was

collected, an Exhibit source because it showed maps of the area they studied and

pictures of asiatic wildcats they found, and a Background source because it gave facts

about asiatic wildcats for contexts and when they presented their results. This source

presents data about a specific area asiatic wildcats inhabit.

2. Accuracy: This article provides in-text citations and a reference list at the end. The data

from the specific study done in the article was performed by the Department of Wildlife

Ecology and Management at Karadeniz Technical University in Turkey. The author gets

their information from reliable sources and presents it as fact.

 3. Currency: This article was published in 2018, and the study itself was conducted in 2015

and 2016. It is unlikely that a similar study was performed in this specific area of Turkey

between this study and when this paper was published, so this is the most relevant

information for asiatic wildcats in this part of Turkey. It is likely that this is the most recent

evidence on asiatic wildcats in Turkey.

4. Authority:This study was conducted by the Department of Wildlife Ecology and

Management in a university. The paper itself is likely written by someone in the

department who was involved. This article was published by Applied Ecology &

Environmental Research, which I believe is considered an authoritative organization.

5. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to inform people of the results of the study the

university conducted. The intended audience is likely fellow scholars within the biological

science field. The article clearly presents the details of the study conducted.

6. Rating: I give this source a 5 rating. It’s a good source for asiatic wildcats in Turkey. The

article is also very professional and is up-to-date.

Source 5:​ Scholarly Article

Photographic Records of the Asiatic Wildcat from Two States of India

Citation:

Pande, Anant, et al. “Photographic Records of the Asiatic Wildcat from Two States of India.”

Journal of Threatened Taxa​, vol. 5, no. 17, Dec. 2013, pp. 5283–5287. ​EBSCOhost​,

doi:10.11609/JoTT.o3351.5283-7.

1. Relevancy: This article is relevant because it details asiatic wildcat sightings in India. It

would be considered a Background source because it gives facts about where the

wildcats are in India, and an Exhibit source because it shows maps of where in India the
 wildcats are and has some images of them. This article supports the asiatic wildcat’s

status in India.

2. Accuracy: This article includes a reference list and in-text citations. It provides data on

different wildlife reserves in India where asiatic wildcats were sighted. The information is

presented as fact and is free of errors.

3. Currency: This source was published in December 2013. I think this source is up-to-date

and is relevant for my topic. I don’t believe there is any updated information for asiatic

wildcat sightings in India.

4. Authority: This article was published by the Journal of Threatened Taxa. It specifically

comes from Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology in the Wildlife

Institute of India. I believe this gives the author an authority on this topic, especially

considering the location.

5. Purpose: This article was written to inform about the asiatic wildcats caught on camera in

India. The intended audience is likely people who are more academically inclined in the

biology field, who are interested in asiatic wildcats in India. The information is clearly

presented and displayed.

6. Rating: I would give this article a 5 rating. I’d say that it’s fairly up-to-date for the area.

The article has a good focus on asiatic wildcats in India.

Source 6:​ Book

Introduced Mammals of the World : Their History, Distribution, and Influence

Citation:

Long, John L. ​Introduced Mammals of the World : Their History, Distribution, and Influence.​
 CSIRO Publishing, 2003. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=90831&site=eds-live.

1. Relevancy: I only found two pages that had information about asiatic wildcats. However,

the pages relate them to wildcats in Africa and Eurasia in general. It was hard to find

books on my topic and this was the best one I could find.

2. Accuracy: The book does include a list of references. The information given is presented

as fact. I did not ​detect any biases, unsupported claims, dubious support, or faulty

reasoning in this book.

3. Currency: This book was published in 2003, but since it’s a book I don’t think it’s that big

of a deal. However, I have evidence that there is more up-to-date information on asiatic

wildcats. We were required to find a book and this is the best one I found, so I think it’s

relevant enough.

4. Authority: This book was published by CABI Publishing and CSIRO Publishing. I wasn’t

able to find anything about the author himself. However, in the acknowledgements, he

mentions consulting experts while he wrote his book.

5. Purpose: The purpose of this book is to inform. The intended audience likely people who

use the internet since this is in ebook, or just people who want to learn about animals in

general. Information is clearly presented and the included index makes it easier to find

specific animals.

6. Rating: I give this source a 3 rating. This book gives good information, but it is a little

outdated. The author also lumps asiatic wildcats in with european and african wildcats.

But it’s the best ebook I could find, so I’m using it.