Wading through the Web and Citations

Q: Why is it important to evaluate the credibility of a website?

A: To ensure that the information is accurate!!

• Anyone can make a website

• How many websites are there on the internet?

Guess!

According to an article featured on CNN, Kevin Kelly, a founder of Wired magazine, has written that there are at least a trillion Web pages in existence.

A group called the World Wide Web Foundation are working to find out an exact number.

With over a trillion websites at your fingertips, how do you determine which sites are credible for your research?

http://www.youtube.com/user/iLearningServices#p/u/10/gx3RiK_aceQ

A good place to start is at the domain name.

If it is:

--.gov - U.S. government site - http://www.whitehouse.gov

--.edu – accredited or reputable college or university -http://www.ufl.edu/ Or http://www.utk.edu/

--.com – a commercial site that is created for a profit or to make money - http://www.amazon.com

--.org – typically a non-profit organization http://www.cancer.org/

-- .net – a network infrastructure (often used for a server that hosts Web sites for others) – http://www.rr1.net

Beyond the domain name, carefully evaluate the site itself. Use the following guide: credcheck.pdf

Indicators of website credibility:

1) Author or organization credibility

2) Purpose (Content)

3) Domain

4) Currency (how current is the info?)

5) Overall design

What about

From the horse’s mouth…

In an interview with Business Week, a reporter asked Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, the following question: “Do you think students and researchers should cite Wikipedia?”

Wales replied: “No, I don’t think people should cite it. Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should give good, solid background information to inform your studies for a deeper level.”

MLA• Who knows what “MLA” stands for??

The Modern Language Association

MLA style is used in the majority of language arts education as the preferred style.

In-text parenthetical citations vs. Works Cited

• Both are required

• Parenthetical citations vary based on source or format

Works Cited

(in alphabetical order)"Blueprint Lays Out Clear Path for Climate Action."

Environmental Defense Fund. Environmental Defense Fund, 8 May 2007. Web. 24 May 2009.

Clinton, Bill. Interview by Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.” New York Times. New York

Times, May 2007. Web. 25 May 2009.

Ebert, Roger. "An Inconvenient Truth." Rev. of An Inconvenient Truth, dir. Davis Guggenheim. Rogerebert.com. Sun-Times News Group, 2 June 2006. Web. 24 May 2009.

Citation Generators

http://www.citationmachine.net/index2.php

http://www.easybib.com

http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php

Parenthetical Citation Basics:The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of the sentence.

Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).

Parenthetical citations for websites

Include in the text the first item that appears in the Work Cited entry that corresponds to the citation (e.g. author name, article name, website name, film name).

Ex:

Job is expected to grow by 10.2 % over the next five years (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Works Cited

Kemper, Mariah. Jacob is Amazing. Vol. 2. Los Angeles: Guy Johnson Inc., 2011. 3. Print.

Ms. Rathmann is Amazing. Ed. Kylie Evans. Riverdale, 16 Jan. 2001. Web. 13 Oct. 2011. <www.rathmannrocks.com>.

Education

• In 2011, the farming industry will grow by 10 %

• Lsdhif;lashf;lasdfh

• Lkushdgkljsdgh

• Ksjdhfkljsdgh

• ;asjlghklsdfjgh

(Kemper, Mariah)

Home Life

• Ms. Rathmann has a dog named Simon (Ms. Rathmann is Amazing)

Book Citation

Lastname, Firstname. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of Publication. Medium of Publication.

Henley, Patricia. The Hummingbird House. Denver: MacMurray, 1999. Print.

A website citation

Editor, author, or compiler name (if available). Name of Site. Version number. Name of institution/organization affiliated with the site (sponsor or publisher), date of resource creation (if available). Medium of publication. Date of access.

Felluga, Dino. Guide to Literary and Critical Theory. Purdue U, 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 10 May 2006.

(According to MLA, the URL can be left out unless the source cannot be identified without it. I do not require you include the URL. Always confirm with individual instructors.)

Exit Ticket1. List the 3 of the 5 indicators of website

credibility.

2. T or F: A “.com” website is never credible.

3. T or F: Wikipedia is considered a valid source for background information.

4. A “.gov” website is created by what?

5. A “.edu” website is created by what?