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HST264: Colonialism in North America, 1492-1830: Evaluating & Citing Sources

Fall 2011

Evaluating Information

The Information Literate Historian: A Guide to Research for History Students - ref D 16.2 .P715 2007

Critical Evaluation of Resources (Univ. of California Berkeley) - Covers scholarly vs. popular publications, primary vs secondary resources, authority, documentation.

Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply and Questions to Ask (Univ. of California Berkeley).

Using Primary Sources on the Web: Evaluating Primary Source Websites (Instruction & Research Services Committee, Reference and User Service Association History Section, American Library Association)

Document Analysis Worksheets  (National Archives)
Guide to analyzing various kinds of primary sources - written documents, photographs, cartoons, posters, maps, artifacts, motion pictures, and sound recordings.

Citing Sources

  • Remember to cite your souce, when either quoting directly or paraphasing. In other words, cite your source whenever you present an idea that isn't your own.
  • Websites must be cited in your notes/bibliography, too; if you cut and paste - or paraphrase - from a website, cite the webpage.
  • When in doubt, cite your source.
  • Remember to include a context for each quotation/paraphrase. Who said it? Why does it matter? How does this support or contradict the argument you're making?
  • Use one of the style guides listed on the Citation Guides & Style Manuals page
  • Or use the Citation Builder (NCSU Libraries), which offers quick citation help for Chicago, MLA, APA, and CBE styles.
  • For managing a large number of references, consider using RefWorks.

Help Writing

Jacobson Center
Offers individual writing conferences, courses to improve writing, and online help to guide students through the writing process.  See especially the Jacobson Center's Writing Process Series, which breaks the writing process down into a series of steps and offers advice and strategies relevant to the main issues confronting most writers.  

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