How to Write a Book Review by Dr. Fritz

    A Guide to Doing Oral Interviews by Dr. Fritz

    Writing Strategies, from Lancaster University, UK

    Reading Strategies, from Lancaster University UK

    Electronic Citation Guide, by Dr. Page 

    A Guide to Doing Abstracts or a Research Paper Proposal by Dr. Burgess 
     

    Note-taking Programs: A few helpful programs 
      you can use while doing research.

   Gilford College's Online Writing Manual http://www.guilford.edu/original/writing_manual/  
 This site is the home of the on-line Guilford writing manual. The Writing Manual was written by Jeff Jeske for Guilford College. The web site was referenced in the Short Guide on pages 132 and 133, in the section on "Writing Drafts". The site contains many helpful suggestions about writing, including a "how to" section on book reviews and peer editing. The site is easy to navigate and the presentation style is lively and informative.

    The ICYouSee Guide to Critical Thinking About What You See on the Web
http://www.ithaca.edu/library/Training/hott.html
Written and maintained by "John R. Henderson, Librarian, Ithaca College Library. This lively site, with plenty of color and boldface writing, provides a good introduction to Web evaluation as well as an interactive tutorial. Librarian John R. Henderson backs up most of his points with links to interesting online examples. Henderson opens with the question of whether the Web is the best resource for certain types of research, followed by questions of source, authority and validity, creators’ intention, quality, and the initial purpose of online material. The site ends with a quiz, an assignment to practice evaluating sites, and a bibliography of more than 20 resources. This site was updated in August 2000. Resources Available: TEXT."*

    Media Awareness Network's "Check Sheet for Internet Sources": An interesting check list for evaluating web sites. While it had limited information the site does provide a good overview for the novice researcher.

    Evaluating Internet Research Sources, http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm
Robert Harris, Professor of English, Vanguard University of Southern California. 
"This site, created by Professor Robert Harris, addresses the diversity of information available on the Web and offers strategies for evaluating it. The article outlines pre-evaluation techniques followed by tests and guidelines for judging the information quality of Internet sites. The techniques are based on the “CARS Checklist” which stands for Credibility, Accuracy, Reasonableness, and Support. Credibility includes factors such as the author’s credentials, evidence of quality control, well-developed metainformation (such as tables of contents, ratings, reviews, and commentaries), and indicators of poor quality (such as anonymity or poor writing). Accuracy refers to information that is correct: “up to date, factual, detailed, exact, and comprehensive.” Judging reasonableness involves “fairness, objectivity, moderateness, and consistency.” Support refers to the sources cited, especially the ability to corroborate the information provided on the website. Harris closes with this advice: “take your information to the Café (Challenge, Adapt, File, Evaluate).” Resources Available: TEXT."*

    Evaluating Web Sites: Criteria and Tools,
Michael Engle, Reference Division, Olin Kroch Uris Libraries, Cornell University. 
"A basic guide for students and other users of the web to analyze the usefulness and reliability of sites. Includes four links to examples of sites in order to illustrate ways to distinguish scholarly journals and sites from other types; two links to similar guides prepared by librarians elsewhere; five sites that review and rank sites; and a three-title “webliography” of books on the subject. Created for a New York Library Association Conference, but updated recently (July 2001). Useful for students needing elementary guidance for using the web to help with assignments. Resources Available: TEXT."*

    George Mason Universities "History Matters: Making Sense of the Evidence": This site "offers Learner Guides and interactive exercises that explore the historian’s craft. The Guides will provide background and strategies for using various primary sources, including oral history, diaries and letters, and photographs. The interactive exercises challenge students to consider the complexities of interpreting certain kinds of historical evidence, such as photographs, film, and music." Well worth the time to explore, especially if you are new to research.

* From George Mason University, "History Matters", Reference Desk", Evaluating Digital Resources", <http://historymatters.gmu.edu/browse/refdesk/>