“Whodunnit?”
Ever feel booby trapped by a search engine? Imagine using an online catalog to search for a book, only your search sends you smack to page 129 of a book. You can't see the author's name, find the table of contents for the book, or even figure out when and where it was published. Web searches do the same thing, often landing you right in the middle of a web site. How do you find the information you need to cite the source? Here are some good puzzles to work out.
1. Here's a site you find on teaching creationism in public schools
Who (or what) is responsible for authoring this site? Where does this section of the site actually start? What is the purpose of the organization?
2. You find this site while doing research on endangered species
What type of website is this? Who is the author of this entry? Where did this information originally come from? And where did those people get the information? If you wanted to cite original research information, which source would you actually cite?
3. Your search engine takes you to this site on women and the military
What kind of document is this? What publication does this document appear in? What type of publication is it (website, journal, book, newspaper...)? Who publishes it and what is the mission (including bias or point of view) of this publisher?
4. You are looking for background information on the intelligent design movement and you find this site
What type of source is this? What differentiates it from a print version of the same type of source? What might you watch out for when using this site?
5. Take a look at this government web site
What is the agency responsible for authoring and maintaining this site? The subagency? The sub-sub-agency? Which of these agencies is important to include in a bibliographic citation?
6. Go to this site on standardized testing
Who or what is the author of these guidelines? How can you tell? How would you cite this source?
7. Your search on the use of cell phones in cars lands you here:
Where is the real beginning of this document? Who (or what) is the author? What URL should you use to cite the whole document?
Next...
Log into NoodleBib. Click on “Create a Personal ID” if you haven't used NoodleBib in the past. Choose APA format and make the description “CL2” (or create a description of your choice).
Your assignment is to create citations for the following:
- The source of Item 2 (i.e., the New Scientist article)
- Item 3 (pick the most appropriate format!)
- Item 5 (hint: you can use the "author" field for the agency name)
IMPORTANT: Share your list to a class named Whodunnit (or I won't be able to grade your hard work).