Research Resources
Class Projects
Grade 7: Global Humanities:
Grade 7: World Studies
Evaluating Sources
When you find a website, book, or video that you want to use for your project, it is important to EVALUATE it first.
Using ABCA can help you determine if the source is reliable.
A - Authority -
Who is writing the text or creating the video?
What are her or his credentials?
Is he or she an expert on this topic?
What else has this person written or created?
Did the author or creator witness the event or phenomenon in person (primary source), are they writing based on information provided by others (secondary source), or are they summarizing existing literature (tertiary source)?
B - Bias -
What is the author's purpose in producing this information?
Is this a balanced account of the events of phenomenon discussed?
Do the words used by the author or the creator have a connotation that is intended to influence the audience?
C - Currency -
What is the copyright date of your source?
Have new events occurred since the publication date of this source?
How recent should the information be in order to be helpful to your topic?
A - Accuracy -
What is the format of the information - a social media post, a news report, a book, a journal article, etc?
Who is the publisher of this piece? Is it self-published? Can you discover who funded the writing or distribution of it?
Does the information appear to be fact or opinion?
What type of language is being used - technical language, jargon, or easy to understand?
Resource Use Responsibilities
Plagiarism
When conducting research it is our responsibility to cite our sources to avoid plagiarizing others work. Plagiarizing means to steal the work or ideas of others without giving credit to the creator.
Citation
In order to avoid plagiarism, it is your responsibility to cite your sources. This means you are giving credit to the author or creator. Usually you include the author, title, copyright date, and publisher. Depending on the type of source more information may be required.
Check out these copyright resources for more information:
Copyright Kids. The Copyright Society of the U.S.A., 2007, http://www.copyrightkids.org/. Accessed 9 July 2020.
EasyBib. Chegg Services, 2020, https://www.easybib.com/. Accessed 9 July 2020.
Montgomery County Public Schools. Montgomery County Public Schools, 2020, https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/. Accessed 7 July 2020.
Plagiarism.org. Turnitin, LLC, 2017, https://plagiarism.org/. Accessed 9 July 2020.