Module 5: Locating and Evaluating Sources Recommended Readings

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These recommended readings offer an opportunity to deepen students’ engagement with the module through coherent, topical essays. The essays are all Creative Commons licensed, which means they can be downloaded and presented directly in the LMS. (Note: The assumption is that not all of these readings would be assigned. The instructor could pick one to assign to the class, or students could be given a choice if the class format allows.)

The readings listed here pair well with the material in the module “Locating and Evaluating Sources.”

Assessing the Credibility of Online Sources

  • Reading: Effectively and Efficiently Reading the Credibility of Online Sources
  • Author: Ellen Carillo & Alice Horning
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-ND
  • Short Summary: Authors discuss critical reading skills using internet sources. They use “lateral reading” as a framework for analyzing internet sources for accuracy and credibility.
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions at the end of the essay.

Source Credibility

  • Reading: Assessing Source Credibility for Crafting a Well-Informed Argument
  • Author: Kate Warrington, Natasha Kovalyova, and Cindy King
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-ND
  • Short Summary: Demonstrates how to use the concepts of logos, ethos, and pathos to assess the credibility of sources (especially, but not only, online).
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions and activities at the end of the essay.

Using the Internet for Research

  • Reading: Googlepedia: Turning Information Behaviors into Research Skills
  • Author: Randall McClure
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-ND
  • Short Summary: Helps create a bridge between everyday search behaviors and information literacy skills for research.
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions at the end of the essay.

Finding and Using Sources

  • Reading: Walk, Talk, Cook, Eat: A Guide to Using Sources
  • Author: Cynthia R. Haller
  • Source: Writing Spaces
  • License: CC BY-NC-SA
  • Short Summary: In the form of a dialogue between a student and an professor, this essay walks the reader through a variety of research questions, including choosing a topic, finding sources, and integrating quotations and paraphrases. The emphasis of the dialogue is on finding reliable sources.
  • Discussions and Approaches: There are discussion questions at the end of the essay.