Secondary Source Evaluation

Purpose: To demonstrate your ability to locate and evaluate online sources.

This assignment is going to prepare you for the research you will conduct in upcoming weeks for the Final Research Paper, which will be due in Week 7. Please read the instructions for the Final Research Paper in the Week 4 module and think about a topic that interests you. It will benefit you to use this assignment (Assignment #3) to jumpstart the Final Research Paper. Finding sources this week for the paper due in Week 7 will make writing the paper in Week 7 much less stressful for you, which was my goal when designing this assignment!

1. Search the internet (Please do not use the library website for this assignment) for secondary sources related to the Final Research Paper topic that interests you most. Locate four (4) relevant sources you might be interested in using. NOTE: The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to evaluate internet sources; therefore, the sources you choose for this exercise do not need to be “perfect.” Rather, they need to be internet-based sources related to the topic you want to research; you will explain why they are credible/quality or not.
2. Open the “Source Credibility Scoresheet” attached below. Typing directly into the scoresheet in the attached file (below), create an MLA Works Cited page for the sources you have found. Be sure sources are listed in alphabetical order.
3. In order of how the sources appear on the Works Cited list, evaluate the four sources by assigning a score of 0 (low quality) to 5 (high quality) for each of the criteria in the table. Explanations for each of the criteria can be found in the “Evaluating Internet Resources” (Links to an external site.) link from Georgetown University.
4. Once you’ve finished scoring and adding the totals, provide a written rationale for your total scores by explaining the strengths and weaknesses of each source. Explanations should be typed below the chart in the document provided in the order the sources appear, and they should justify why you’ve given the scores you have to each. Each rationale should be 5-7 sentences. Please see the student sample below for further clarification.
5. To submit this assignment, save the document with your scores, explanations, and Works Cited. Upload the saved file by clicking the green link in the upper right corner of this page.
6. Please see the student sample (including my notes) in the attachment below for guidance. Also, please read the rubric carefully.

Assignment document: Source Credibility Scoresheet

Student Sample: Assignment #3 Sample 1220

Rubric

Source Credibility