Evaluating a Source
When evaluating a source, think of the acronym C.R.A.P.
Currency- how current is the information on the website? When was it last maintained or updated?
Plagiarism vs. Paraphrasing
This excerpt is taken directly from the Oxford High School Handbook (p.23) on the school's policy about plagiarism:
Academic integrity is of the utmost importance at Oxford High School. As a result, any allegation of academic dishonesty is taken extremely seriously. Plagiarism is one of the most common forms of academic fraud and is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary in the following way:
A. To steal and use the ideas or writings of another as one's own
B. To appropriate passages or ideas from another source and use them as one's own
You commit plagiarism whenever you present words or ideas taken from another person as if they were your own. The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is always to use quotation marks when you quote directly from a source and always to acknowledge a source when you borrow or even allude to someone else's idea.
Checklist to Avoid Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is a VERY serious offense! At the high school level, plagiarism may result in disciplinary action.
When evaluating a source, think of the acronym C.R.A.P.
Currency- how current is the information on the website? When was it last maintained or updated?
- If you are researching something that is constantly changing (technology) or current event, it is important to use a website with a recent publication or updated date. If you are researching some historical, such as events leading up to the Revolutionary War, publication date of a webpage won't matter as much.
- .com --> for Commercial use
- These sites can be created by anyone! Be more critical when evaluating a .com website
- .org --> non-profit organizations
- .net --> Network related domains
- .gov --> produced by a US Government entity
- .edu --> produced by an educational institution
- If a website contains other hyperlinks, make sure that they are active and lead to other reliable sources
- If a website is published by a well-known organization, it is safe to assume that the site is reliable. If you do not know anything about the person publishing the site, and if the site gives no background information on who the creator is, then precede with caution! You want to make sure that the individual is an expert on the topic.
- Evaluate whether the website is promoting something that is fact or if the author is using their website as a platform to express their opinions and biases (ex. blog)
Plagiarism vs. Paraphrasing
This excerpt is taken directly from the Oxford High School Handbook (p.23) on the school's policy about plagiarism:
Academic integrity is of the utmost importance at Oxford High School. As a result, any allegation of academic dishonesty is taken extremely seriously. Plagiarism is one of the most common forms of academic fraud and is defined by The American Heritage Dictionary in the following way:
A. To steal and use the ideas or writings of another as one's own
B. To appropriate passages or ideas from another source and use them as one's own
You commit plagiarism whenever you present words or ideas taken from another person as if they were your own. The easiest way to avoid plagiarism is always to use quotation marks when you quote directly from a source and always to acknowledge a source when you borrow or even allude to someone else's idea.
Checklist to Avoid Plagiarism:
- Always acknowledge your sources
- Always keep your own notes and comments about a subject separate from the words you copy from other sources. Students sometimes commit plagiarism accidentally because their notes fail to distinguish between what is their own and what they have copied
- Always use quotation marks when you are quoting directly, even if you choose to quote only a short phrase or clause
- Even when you are not quoting directly from a source, always be sure to attribute striking ideas to the person who first thought of them
- Always cite your sources for interpretations, statistical data, and facts that are not common knowledge
Plagiarism is a VERY serious offense! At the high school level, plagiarism may result in disciplinary action.