Transcript File

Capturing Your Sources
Introduction
Making a source list
Preparing a Works Cited list
Talk About It
Your Turn
Tech Tools in this presentation
• Google Docs
• EasyBib
Introduction
Ever hear the expression “like finding a needle in a
haystack”?
Finding any one
book, article, or Web
site in the millions of
information resources
can be next to
impossible—if you
don’t know where
to look.
Introduction
You will want to keep track of the sources you use in
your research for two main reasons:
• As you write, you might
need to go back to a
source to check your
information.
• Other people might
want to see the sources
that you use in your
research.
Making a source list
It takes time to find good sources of information.
When you find a valuable source, you should record
information about it so that you can find it again if
necessary.
Where did I
get this
information?
Otherwise, you’ll find yourself frustrated—like this
student, who needs to return to one of her sources but
can’t remember where she found it.
Making a source list
A source list is a place to keep track of the sources of
information that you think you might use.
This list will change as you work. If you find a new and
useful source, you will add it to your list. You might
also decide not to use a source and remove it from
your list.
Making a source list
You can create your source list on notebook paper, in a
document on your computer, or by writing each source
down on a separate notecard.
To create a source list:
1. Record information that
tells you who wrote and
published each source
and when.
2. Give each source a
number. (You’ll use this
later.)
1. Thornton, Kim C. The
Everything Labrador
Retriever Book. Avon:
Adams Media, 2004. Print.
Making a source list
The information for each type of
source—book, newspaper article, Web
site, and so on—must be recorded in a
specific way on your source list.
To cite a book, give the name of the
author, the title, the city where the
book was published, the publisher’s
name, the year the book was
published, and the medium of
publication (print).
Thornton, Kim C. The Everything Labrador Retriever Book.
Avon: Adams Media, 2004. Print.
Making a source list
For a magazine article, you
need the author, the title, the
name of the magazine, the date
it was published, the page
numbers, and the medium of
publication (print).
Grunwald, Michael. “The Clean
Energy Myth.” Time 27 March
2008: 15–19. Print.
Making a source list
For a Web site, you need the author’s name, the title of
the Web page, the date it was published or last updated,
the medium of publication (Web), and the date you
viewed it.
Hoadley, Rick. “How Do Magnets Work?” Magnet Man.
16 Sept. 2006. Web. 28 June 2008.
Tech Tool: Google Docs
Google Docs is a free online
tool that might help you with
your source list.
Google Docs enables you to create word-processing
documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online.
All you need is a Google account, and you are ready
to begin.
Tech Tool: Google Docs
There are several advantages to creating your source
list on Google Docs rather than in a computer’s wordprocessing program:
1. Your document will be available on any computer
with Internet access. You won’t have to worry
about moving your document among computers at
school, at home, or at the library.
Tech Tool: Google Docs
2. With Google Docs, you can allow other users of your
choice to look at or add to the document.
If you are creating a group project,
everyone in your group can add
sources to your list.
Tech Tool: Google Docs
3. Google Docs has easy-to-use features. You can
• save your work to your regular
word-processing software at
any time.
• print your work whenever
you want.
• publish your work to a
blog or Web page to
share with an audience.
Preparing a Works Cited list
You will continue to use your source list throughout the
research process:
during note taking
while you are drafting your document
to create your Works Cited list
A Works Cited list is an alphabetical listing of all the
sources you used in your work.
Preparing the Works Cited list isn’t difficult. Delete the
numbers on your source list. Then cut and paste, or
rewrite, the listings in alphabetical order.
Preparing a Works Cited list
You include a Works Cited list for two important
reasons:
1. To make it simple for someone else to find a source
that you used. Your reader might want to know more
about your topic after reading your project.
2. To give credit to all of the people
whose ideas you used in your
work. If you don’t do this, you are
claiming that all the ideas in your
work are your own. This is called
plagiarism.
Tech Tool: EasyBib
Don’t you wish you had a tool to make creating your
Works Cited list easier?
EasyBib is a free online tool that will do just that!
Tech Tool: EasyBib
To use EasyBib, choose the type of source you are
using and whether it is a print or online source.
Then fill in the blanks with the information about your
source.
EasyBib will create your citation
in MLA format.
Camp, Vic. “How Volcanoes Work.”
Department of Geological Sciences.
San Diego State University. 31 Mar.
2006. Web. 30 June 2008.
Talk About It
Discuss the answers to these questions with your
classmates.
1. Why is it necessary to use other people’s work when
you create a research project?
2. Creating a Works Cited list is a necessary step in the
research process. Why is this step important for both
writers and readers?
3. If someone used your work as a source for his or her
research project, how would you react if you weren’t
included in his or her Works Cited list?
Your Turn
Do the following on paper or in a computer document.
1. Select three sources:
• a book
• a magazine article
• a Web site
2. Create a citation for each source, using EasyBib or the
information in the “Making a source list” section of
this presentation.
3. If you use EasyBib, print out a copy of your citations.
Your Turn
• Book citation:
• Magazine article citation:
• Web site citation:
The End