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FYS121: The Evolution and Transformation of the Northampton State Hospital: Evaluating & Citing Sources

Fall 2014, T. Riddell

Analyzing the Evidence

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.

How to Analyze a Primary Source (Carleton College)

Making Sense of Evidence (History Matters)

 

 

Evaluating Other Sources

Critical Evaluation of Resources. (Univ. of California Berkeley Library)
Covers scholarly vs. popular publications, primary vs. secondary resources, authority, and other criteria for evaluating print and online sources.

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

 

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 Chicago Manual of Style format; see either the quick guide (Univ. of Wisconsin) or the full version.
  • 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 Zotero.

Help Writing

The 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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