Evaluating

Sources
What are sources?
What are the criteria
or the things you
need to consider
whether a source is
reliable or not?
 CRITERIA IN
EVALUATING SOURCES
Pre-assessment
Which of the sources would you pick
if you are doing a research on the
Law of Supply and Demand?
a. An Introduction to Theories on Economics
b. How to Invest and Get Rich
c. 105 Habits of Highly Effective Businessmen
Which of the sources would fit best if
you are doing a technical report on
illegal citations of a text?
a. An analyzation on Plagiarism and its rules
b. Crediting and evaluating: the world of
writing
c. An entrance to the realm of Academic
English and its proper use of citation
 Relevance of the Source to
the Topic
Ask yourself:
How well does the source support your
topic?
 Relevance of the Source to
the Topic
Key idea:
You can check the title, table of
contents, summary/abstract,
introduction, or headings of the text
to have a sense of its content.
Which of the following texts would you
use for a research regarding
Holocaust?
a. Dark Shadows of the Past: A Comparative Study
on the Holocaust and Death March; authored by
Mao Guevarra, Ph.D. in History
b. Analyzing Nazism and Extremist Supremacy,
authored by Adolf Mussolini, RMD
 Authority/Author’s Qualification
Ask yourself:
• Is the author’s name identified?
• Is the author’s background, education, or training
related to the topic?
• Is s/he a professor in a reputable university?
• What are his/her publications?
• Is the contact information of the author available?
 Authority/Author’s Qualification
Key ideas:
If the source does not have an author, think
twice before using it.
You can check the university’s website to make
sure that the professor is associated with the
university.
 Authority/Author’s Qualification
Key ideas:
Publications from professors are usually peer-reviewed and
have undergone a strenuous publication process and are
therefore reliable.
Legitimate academic texts must include citations as a
requirement for publication. Citations demonstrate that the
writer has thoroughly researched the topic and is not
plagiarizing the material.
Which material will you use for a
research on electromagnetism?
a. Notes on Recent Researches in Electricity
and Magnetism, 1953
b. Basics of Electromagnetism, 2015
c. The Foundation of Studies in
Electromagnetism, 2009
d. Fundamentals of Physics and
electromagnetism, 2013
 Currency/Date of Publication
Ask yourself:

•What is the date of the publication?

•Is it recent?
 Currency/Date of Publication
Key ideas:

In most fields, the data from older publications may

no longer be valid
Which of these sources would you
use for a research on Marxism?
a. The Dark Side of Marxism, Hen Sy
b. Karl Marx and the Fundamentals of
Marxism, Fred Angle
c. Effects of Marxism in an Industrialized
World, Rick Carlos
 Contents/Accuracy of Information
Ask yourself:
• Does the author have a lot of citations in his or
her text and/or bibliography or works cited
section?
• What is the tone and style of writing?
• Is the information inaccurate?
• Is the information obviously biased or
prejudiced?
 Contents/Accuracy of Information
Key ideas:
The tone or the attitude of the author towards
his/her subject and writing style must be formal.
There should be no words or phrases (such as
colloquial words or contracted words) that are
unacceptable in English formal writing.

You do not want to use a source that is disputable,

so make sure to verify your findings with multiple
sources.
 Contents/Accuracy of Information
Key ideas:

It might be all right to use a source which only

focuses on one aspect of the topic, as long as you
balance it in your research with sources from other
points of view. Make sure that the author has no
personal agenda in writing the information.
 Location of Information
Ask yourself:
• Where is the source published? Is it published
digitally or in print?
• Is it a book, an academic journal, or a
reputable news source?
• Does it provide complete publication
information such as author(s)/editor(s), title,
date of publication, and publisher?
• What is the URL of the website?
 Location of Information
Key ideas:
Avoid using blogs or personal homepage and
wiki sites.

If the URL includes top-level domain .edu,

then that means that it has been published by
an academic institution such as a university.
 Location of Information
Key ideas:
Common URLs include .gov (government),
.org (organizations), .com (commercial sites),
and .net (network infrastructure).

In academic writing, reputable sites are those

with .edu, .gov, .net, and .org in URL.
You can also use the following
criteria in evaluating sources.
Evaluation of Sources
1. Accuracy of Web Documents
• Who wrote the page and can
you contact him/her?
• What is the purpose of the
document and why was it
produced?
• Is this person qualified to write
this document?
How to Interpret the Basics
Accuracy
• Make sure author provides e-mail
or a contact address/phone
number.
• Know the distinction between an
author and a Webmaster.
Evaluation of Sources How to Interpret the Basics
2. Authority of Web Documents Authority

• Who published the document • What credentials are listed for

and is it separate from the the authors?
“Webmaster”?
• Where is the document
• Check the domain of the published? Check the website’s
document, what institution URL domain.
publishes this document?

• Does the publisher list his or

her qualifications?
Evaluation of Sources
3. Objectivity of Web Documents
• What goals/objectives does
this page meet?
• How detailed is the
information?
• What opinions (if any) are
expressed by the author?
How to Interpret the Basics
Objectivity
• Determine if page is a mask for
advertising; if so, information
might be biased.
• View any Web page as you
would an infomercial on
television. Ask yourself why it
was written and for whom.
Evaluation of Sources How to Interpret the Basics
4. Currency of Web Documents Currency

• When was it produced? • How many dead links are there

on the page?
• When was it updated?
• Are the links current or updated
• How up-to-date are the links regularly?
(if there are any)?
• Is the information on the page
outdated?
Evaluation of Sources
5. Coverage of the Web
Documents
• Are the links (if there are any)
evaluated and do they
complement the documents’
theme?
• Is it all images or a balance text
and images?
• Is the information presented
cited correctly?
How to Interpret the Basics
Coverage
• If the page requires special
software to view the
information, how much are you
missing if you don’t have the
software?
• Is it free or is there a fee to
obtain the information?
 Search

As Shakespeare said in Sonnet 116, “Love is not love /

Which alters when it alteration finds,” so Dani, I will
love you no matter what!
 Search

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see.”

–either Confucius or Lao Tzu said this. Haha. I forgot.
Anyways, good morning, everyone!
 Search

Was reading this online slide about the Sapir-Whorf

Hypothesis. It states that “there are certain thoughts of
an individual in one language that cannot be
understood by those who live in another language.”
WHOAAAA #mindblown
 Search

I wanna make you smile whenever you’re sad, carry

you around when your arthritis is bad. All I wanna do
is grow old with you, Marga.
 Search

I always say, from this movie which title I don’t

remember (but I do know Tom Hanks is in it!), that life
is a box of chocolates; you’ll never know what you’re
gonna get! So true!  Who agrees? Let me know what
movie this is from!
Is it acceptable to copy-and-paste a sentence
written by someone else into your paper and
simply add quotation marks around it?

a. Yes, because it shows that it is not originally my

text
b. No, that is incomplete citation
Paraphrasing properly is to:

a. Change a few words to make it your own and

cite it
b. Put quotation marks around the text and cite it
c. Use only the idea without citing it
d. Summarize the text in your own words and cite
it
You re-use paragraphs from a paper you wrote
last semester and put it into a new assignment,
and you don’t cite it because it’s your own
work. Is this plagiarism?

a. Yes, it is self-plagiarism.
b. No, it is not plagiarism.
For an individual class assignment, Chi and John
decide to collaborate. Chi compiles research notes,
John identifies the main findings, and both write
their own original research papers. This is:

a. Unethical collaboration
b. Plagiarism
c. Both unethical collaboration and plagiarism
d. Acceptable collaboration
True or False

A source doesn’t need to be

cited if it’s collaboratively
written on the web like
Wikipedia.
Is it necessary to cite information that is common knowledge or
widely accessible, like historical information or popular scientific
information, e.g. 70% of the earth is covered in water?

a. Yes
b. No

According to Purdue Online Writing Lab, information can be

classified as common knowledge if the same information is
“undocumented in at least five credible sources”, if it is
something that readers within a group or discipline are likely to
understand, and if it is contained in a general reference source.
You see something on Twitter and
Facebook that you really like, so you:

a. Copy-and-paste the post onto your

own pages
b.Give credit to the person you took it
from
 What is
PLAGIARISM
?
Plagiarism is any of the following:
• not following the conventions for referencing and
acknowledging sources;
• changing the words used into synonyms or copying the
exact sentence structure of a source without giving
credit;
• copying many words or ideas from a source without
attribution;
• paraphrasing another person’s work with minor changes,
but keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of
ideas of the original without citation;
Plagiarism is any of the following:
• piecing together sections of the work of others
into a new whole and claiming it as your own;
• submitting part or all of an assignment twice for
separate subjects or marks;
• presenting an assignment as independent work
when it has been produced in whole or part in
collaboration with other people, for example
another student or a tutor;
Plagiarism is any of the following:
•fabricating data;
•submitting the written work of others
•buying written work and submitting
it for academic completion; and
•giving incorrect information about
the source of quotation.
Copyright infringement is an offense
related to plagiarism. It happens
when…
•an individual/entity directly commits
infringement without permission of
author/exercise economic right of the
author;
Copyright infringement is an offense
related to plagiarism. It happens
when…

•an individual/entity benefits from

the infringing activity of another;
and
Copyright infringement is an offense
related to plagiarism. It happens
when…
•an individual/entity, with
knowledge of activity, induces,
causes, or materially contributes
to the infringing conduct of
another.
While plagiarism is an intellectual
offense which sanctions vary
depending on the context and the
academic institution, copyright
infringement is an offense which
can lead to legal consequences.
 1. to give credit to the
original author of a work
Purpose
s for 2. to promote scholarly
Citing writing
Sources 3. to help your target
audience identify your
original source
 • Plagiarism is a serious
1. to give offense in which someone
credit to the takes and uses the ideas,
information, concepts, or
original arguments from someone
author of a else, intentionally or
work unintentionally, without
proper citations.
 • Scholarly writing means
that you are able to
2. to exhaustively use related
and existing ideas,
promote information, concepts, or
scholarly arguments of an expert
and to properly attribute
writing these to the original
source.
 • More often than not, your
3. to help target audience or readers
want to either verify the
your target information from the
audience original source. With your
identify your proper citations, your target
audience can easily identify
original the location of the original
source source used in your paper.
 Spot the
difference…
Two of the three reviewed studies
focusing on communication in non-
Internet and Internet relationships
mediated by FtF, phone, or email
modalities found that the frequency of
each modality’s use was significantly
linked to the strength of the particular
relationship. (Cummings et. Al., 2002).
Cummings, J.N., Butler B., Kraut R.
(2002). The quality of online social
relationships. Communications of
the ACM 45(7), 103-108.
Hu Y., Wood J.F., Smith V. (2004).
Friendships through IM: Examining
the relationship between instant
messaging and intimacy. Journal of
Computer Mediated
Communication 10, 38-48.
 In-text Citation Reference Citation

Forms of Citations
In-Text Citation
• This requires the writer to
cite the details of the
reference used in a certain
part of his/her essay. The
format of in-text citations
vary per style.
Reference Citation
• This refers to the complete bibliographic
entries of all references used by the writer.
This appears in the reference list found at
the last part of the paper.
In-text citation requires the writer to
cite the details of the reference used in
a certain part of his/her essay, while
reference citation is the complete
bibliographic entries of all references
used by the writer.
 Style Guides
• The Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association (APA)
• The Modern Language Association Style Guide
(MLA)
• Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
(IEEE)
• American Medical Association Manual of Style
(AMA)
• The Chicago Manual Style
• Harvard Style (HS)
 STYLE
DISCIPLINE
GUIDE
psychology, education, hotel and restaurant management,
APA
business economics, and other social sciences
MLA literature, arts, and humanities
IEEE Engineering
AMA medicine, health sciences, and other natural sciences
reference books, non-academic periodicals (e.g.,
Chicago
newspapers, magazines, journals, among others)
Harvard
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)
1. Follow the author’s (latest) year of publication method.

• According to Sipacio (2014), APA style is required for

business student majors.
• APA style is applied in the social sciences (Sipacio, 2014).

2. For a work with only one author

• According to Sipacio (2014), APA style is required for

business student majors.
• APA style is applied in the social sciences (Sipacio, 2014).
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)
3. For two authors

• According to Sipacio and Barrot (2014), APA style is

required for business student majors.
• APA style is applied in the social sciences (Sipacio &
Barrot, 2014).
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)
4. For three to five authors
First Citation
• According to Sipacio, Barrot, and Sanchez (2014), the APA
style is appropriate for the fields of Nursing and Education.
• APA style is appropriate for the fields of Nursing and
Education (Sipacio, Barrot, & Sanchez, 2014).

Subsequent Citation
• Sipacio et al. states that in general, the social sciences employ
this citation style (2014).
• In general, the social sciences employ this citation style (Sipacio
et al., 2014).
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)
5. Direct Quotations
when you use a direct quote with less than 40 words, you are
required to include the page number/s enclose in parenthesis.

1. Sipacio (2014) claimed that “beginners found the APA

style guide too complex” (p. 56).
2. According to Sipacio (2014) “beginners found the APA
style guide too complex” (p. 56).
3. He claimed that “beginners found the APA style guide
too complex” (Sipacio, 2014, p. 56) because of several
factors.
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)
5. Direct Quotations

when you use a direct quote with 40 words or more,

you are still required to include the page number/s. Start
your quotations in a new line with a ½ indention on the
left margin. There is no need to enclose long quotations
in quotation marks, but the page number must be placed
after the period.
APA (Basic Rules in In-Text Citation)

In his article “Poverty in the Philippines: Income, Assets, and

Access”, Scheliz (2005) suggests a list of causes of poverty.

(1) low to moderate economic growth for the past 40

years; (2) low growth elasticity of poverty reduction; (3)
weakness in employment generation and the quality of
jobs generated; (4) failure to fully develop the agriculture
sector; and, (5) high inflation during crisis periods. (p. 2)
Guidelines in Reference Citations (APA)
• Place the reference list on a new page separate from the
text of your writing; label this page “References” and
align it at the center at the top of the page. Do not use
bold face, underline, or quotation marks for the title.
• Apply hanging indentation. This simply means the lines
following the first line in an entry should be indented
from the left margin.
• All text should be double spaced just like the rest of the
paper.
• Follow this sequence in writing the names of the author:
Last name, First name initial, and Middle initial.
Guidelines in Reference Citations (APA)
• Arrange the references in alphabetical order based on
the last names of the authors.
• Do not cut or add to the titles.
• Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title,
the first letter of the first word of its subtitle after a
colon, and the proper nouns.
• Italicize the titles. When the article title is used, italicize
only the journal article.
Guidelines in Reference Citations (APA)

•For online sources, make sure to

remove the hyperlink of the URL.
•For print sources, place a period at
the end of the entry.
•Put “n.d.” (no date) for sources
without dates.
Sources Examples
Articles from an online Barrot, J. S. (2013). A macro perspective on key
journal issues in English as a second language (ESL)
• If the article has been pedagogy in the postmethod era: Confronting
assigned with a digital challenges through sociocognitive-transformative
object identifier (doi) then approach. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher.
you should indicate it. Doi: 10.1007/s40299-013-0119-4.
Otherwise, use the URL of
the article preceded by a Guthrie, K., & McCraken, H. (2010). Reflective
signal phrase “Retrieved pedagogy: Making meaning in experiential
from”. Include volume based online courses. Journal of Educators
number enclosed in Online, 7(2), 1-21. Retrieved from
parentheses (if available), http://www.thejeo.com/Archives/Volume7
and page number/s. Number2/GuthriePaper.pdf.
Sources Examples
Book Sections

• Include page Antonio, L. C. (2010). Study on

number/s and place recyclables collection trends and best
it/them at the end practices in the Philippines. In M.
of the entry. Kojima, (Ed.), 3R Policies for Southeast
and East Asia. ERIA Research Project
Report 2009-10 (40-70). Jakarta:
ERIA.
Sources Examples
Books
• Single Author Friedman, T. L. (2009). Hot, flat, and crowded:
Why we need a green revolution – and how it
can renew America. NY: Picador.

• Two Authors Dryzek, J. S., & Dunleavy, P. (2009). Theories of

the democratic state. NH: Palgrave Macmillan.

• Multiple Authors Plata, S. M., et al. (2006). Research, process,

- Format of book with and product workbook. Laguna: Trailblazers
three or multiple authors Publication.
applies to all sources.
Sources Examples
Conference Proceedings Sipa