How to Cite and Assess Your Sources.

The following are some techniques that you will find useful for collecting and assessing your sources.

• Citations
• Position Identification
• Reference Annotation
• Critical Evaluation of a Claim

Citations

Use proper formats for bibligraphic citations. The following are a couple of examples of the format you should use for citations (references):

Journal or magazine article:

Bogus, I.M., and B.A. Fraud. 1991. Faking bilbliographic references on short notice.  Journal of Irreproducible Results 163:215-217.

Internet resources (Webpages or website):

Author's last name, first name.  "Title of document." Title of complete work (if applicable).  Version or file number (if applicable). Document date or date of last revision.  Protocol and address, access path or directories (date of access).

(e.g., Cyberman, I.M.  "Life exists on Mars."  Extraterrestrial Life Series. June 23, 1997. http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/ academic/philosophy/mars/index.html (Accessed November 3, 1997).)

Position identification

Complete the following for each reference:

1. Give a complete citation for the paper that you have collected. 
2. What is the author's position?
3. What evidence does the author provide to support their position?
4. What concepts must be understood to make an informed decision regarding the author's position?

Reference annotation

Complete the following for each reference:

1. Give a complete citation for the paper that you have collected.
2. How up-to-date and trustworthy is this reference?  A 1996 Scientific American item will command more respect than a 1967 clipping from The National Enquirer.
3. Write the reference annotation.  Annotations should be no more than three sentences long.  Each item should include two sentences describing the contents of the article and one sentence explaining why the article will be useful for your project.

Critical Evaluation of a Claim

The ability to critically evaluate claims made by reporters, politicians, insurance sellers, etc. is an important skill you'll be able to use throughout your life. It's a skill particularly vital to scientists. To help you exercise your critical thinking skills, we'll recommend a five-step framework for evaluating claims.

Step 1 Identify a specific claim and restate it clearly. Determine its importance.

 In addition to simply identifying a claim, ask:

 What are possible alternate views?

 What are the consequences of the claim being right or wrong?

Step 2 Identify evidence relevant to the claim.

 List all of the forms of evidence presented.

Step 3 Evaluate the quality of the evidence you've found. Some types of evidence are more convincing that others.

The best scientific evidence is a fact or measurement of something that actually exists or has occurred (e.g., an experimental result or an observation of nature). Such evidence must be attributed to a reliable source (e.g., a specific scientist or an article in a scientific journal).

You will want to consider the design of the study that produced the result or observation, of course. Other evidence that might have a bearing on your acceptance or rejection of a claim could include:

• "Anecdotal" evidence.
• An opinion of a respected person with experience in the area where the claim is made.
• The claimant's point of view. (How does the claim affect the claimant?)
• A reasonable opposing claim. (Is there evidence for the opposing claim?)
• How valuable is each of the types of evidence listed above?

Step 4 Evaluate the validity of the claim.

If the evidence supports the claim — conditionally accept the claim.

If the evidence contradicts the claim  — do not accept the claim.

If the evidence is insufficient  — do not accept the claim.

Step 5 Summarize the reasoning you used to evaluate the claim.

Summarize the directly relevant evidence and explain how it supports or contradicts the claim. If the evidence is insufficient, provide a specific example of additional information you need to critically evaluate the claim.