APSC 261/262 - Technology and Society

Found a scholarly source? Or at least you think you have? You've found an article through Google Scholar and want to be sure it is a scholarly source you can use for your assignment. 

To evaluate a source and whether or not it is scholarly, refer to the Evaluating Information Sources page here: https://guides.library.ubc.ca/EvaluatingSources/ScholarlyPopular

RADAR is another framework designed by Jane Mandalios from the American College of Greece to help students evaluate online resources.

• Relevance: How is the information relevant to your project?
• Authority: Who created the resource and how credible are they? What institution are they affiliated with?
• Date: When was the information published, and is it still accurate/relevant today?
• Appearance: Does the resource look clean and professional? Is the language formal and academic?
• Reason for writing: To your best knowledge, why was this resource created? Was it to refute/discredit another point of view? Was it to sell or promote something?

"SIFT (The Four Moves)" by Mike Caulfield, re-used and adapted under CC BY 4.0

 There are four moves to help you evaluate information you find on a website. Using the Library search, Summon, helps find research articles, books and more to help verify information.

1. Stop. Do you know the website or where the information is coming from? Can you verify the claims in the website? Before you click "share" make sure you have verified the information.
2. Investigate the Source. Who is providing the information? What is their level of expertise? Do they have an agenda that might influence what is said and how the information is presented? Using the Library search, Summon, can help verify the information and provide multiple reliable sources.
3. Find Better Coverage. Look into multiple sources that can help verify the claim. What are the experts saying about the topic? Where else has the story been covered?
4. Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context. Trace the claim you find on social media, or a news clip, or a website you land on back to the source to get the context for the claim. 

Citing sources requires giving credit within your paper, usually at the end of the sentence, as well as in a list of References at the end of the document. UBC Library provides a guide for the most commonly cited sources:

• APA 7th ed. Citation Style Guide
• APA Manual at the Library. On the Shelf
• How to Cite Guide

Using citation management software can save you time and effort, however, it is rarely 100% accurate. 

• Within Summon, you can create a citation by clicking on the " symbol next to each article
• Mendeley and Zotero are two citation management options where you can save references, organize, and export bibliographies.