Professor Eliud - Research

EN3220: Module 2 Searching and Evaluating Credible Sources

Exercise 2.1

Evaluating Credible and Non-Credible Sources

1

Task 1: Answer Questions 1–5 by choosing the best answer.

1. A student has to write a report about the causes of the rebellion in Libya for a Political Science class.

Which source is the best place to start?

 Wikipedia entry about Libya

 News article from the New York Times about background on the Libyan rebellion

 History Channel’s special on famous rebellions in history

 Blog from a Libyan rebel

2. A mother of a sick toddler is looking for advice on when to take her child to the doctor. She should

trust info from:

 A mother’s discussion forum where moms can share anecdotes about their kids

 A scholarly article about causes of the common cold in children

 The American Academy of Pediatrics’ website

 A diaper company’s website that offers advice to parents

3. A student is trying to remember the name of an actor in a movie she recently saw. Which one of

these would be an acceptable source for this type of research?

 Wikipedia entry about that movie

 Ebert and Roeper’s review of the movie

 Official website for the movie

 All of the above would work for this type of search

4. A student has to research the problem of gang violence among teenagers in large cities. Which

source will provide the most reliable information for her project?

 An LA Times special, multi-part report on gangs that was written 15 years ago

 A scholarly article from the Criminal Justice database available through her school library

 A CNN interview on the Internet with a former teenage gangster

 A blog entry about rising gang violence in the city where the blogger lives

5. A student is looking for up-to-date statistics about obesity in children and school lunch programs.

Which source would provide the most current, reliable information?

 The US government’s Department of Education website

 A scholarly article written five years ago that discusses why school lunches need to be healthier

EN3220: Module 2 Searching and Evaluating Credible Sources

Exercise 2.1

Evaluating Credible and Non-Credible Sources

2

 An editorial from the Washington Post that cites statistics and then argues that obesity rates are

the fault of parents, not school lunches

 A Wikipedia entry about obesity rates in children

Task 2: Now, for Questions 6–10, please explain your answers in 1–2 sentences.

6. I chose my answer in Question 1 because:

7. I chose my answer in Question 2 because:

8. I chose my answer in Question 3 because:

9. I chose my answer in Question 4 because:

10. I chose my answer in Question 5 because:

Submission Requirements:

 Submit your responses for grading in a Microsoft Word document, clearly separating all 10

questions.

 The analysis assignment should be 700 to 900 words.

 Adhere to Standard English grammar, spelling, and punctuation requirements.

 Use 12-point Arial font and double-space.

Evaluation Criteria:

The short answer assignment rubric will be used to evaluate this assessment.