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Juniors: Evaluating Online Sources

As part of the ongoing process for your analysis paper on satire, tonight you will find ONE article that is related to the subject you wrote about last week, print it, and bring it to class.

For example, if the cartoon was on the unexplained "aflockalypse" in Arkansas -- thousands of birds falling from the sky -- then you would look up a news article that reports that phenomena. Your source should be both relevant and reliable.

For a source to be RELEVANT, try the following:
  • Narrow your search by using keyword strings or phrases (in quotes)
  • Google allows users to select tabs -- web, images, videos, news, etc. -- to select the media type
  • Skim titles of publications and articles
  • Narrow down further by adding more specific keywords related to your purpose (i.e. "news" versus "opinion")
  • Finally, print out articles ONLY after you have skimmed them for content
  • Once a source is printed, it can then be highlighted and quoted
For a source to be RELIABLE, consider the following:
  • The source itself -- Who wrote it, and where did it come from? Have you heard of the paper/website/magazine? Who publishes the page you are viewing? Always use the most respectable sources you can.
  • The date -- How recent is it, and if your event/topic didn't happen recently, do you want read a reflection ten years later, or do you need information from the time it happened? On the other hand, if your topic is technology, then it's important to get the latest information possible.
  • The author's purpose -- Is it an opinion piece or is it fact-based? Is the purpose to persuade, or is it to inform? Objective or subjective? Biased articles can be used IF the bias is acknowledged and explained. Otherwise, the reader tends to listen only if he/she agrees with the opinion.
Back to the "aflockalypse" question.... Would an article on theories regarding the deaths be relevant? How about reliable? It depends on whose theories, right? And wouldn't it be important to note that they are "theories" versus "reasons verified by evidence"?

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