LibGuides: IB Physics: Evaluate & Cite Sources

IB Effective referencing and citing

IB Referencing and citing
Advice from the IB explaining how to accurately reference and cite your sources.

MLA Style Guides

Harvard Guide to Using Sources: Content on a Website
Examples for how to cite websites, blogs, tweets, online postings MLA Style.

Harvard Guide to Using Sources
Click on Citing Sources and then MLA, for in-text citation examples.
Detailed MLA Paper Example
Purdue OWL
See Also: MLA Style Center

OPVL - Resource Evaluation Tool

Analysis of Resources: Origin Purpose Value Limitations

OPVL is an effective tool to analyze primary and secondary source documents.

Origin	Origin is where the source comes from. Is this a primary or secondary source? Who is the author or artist? What date it was written or finished? In which country the author or artist was born? Where was it created? What type of sources was it when it was first presented (newspaper, book, letter, performance, display, speech, etc.)? What was the historic context in which the source was created? Is there anything known about the author that is important to know to evaluate it?
Purpose	Purpose is where you have to put yourself in the author or artist's shoes. The purpose should relate to the origin of the source. What do you think the author was trying to communicate? What ideas or feelings was the author trying to express or make others feel? Why did the author create this document? Why does it exist? Who was the intended audience of this source? Who was it created for? What is the obvious message of the source? What other messages are there that might not be obvious? The purpose is especially important when it comes to pieces of propaganda as sources.
Value	Value is how valuable this source is. Basically it's linked to the amount of bias in the source: the more bias = the less valuable (usually). Primary sources are obviously more valuable than secondary/tertiary ones. Why is this source important in the study of this topic? What is an important quote from this source? What value does this source have that might not be available elsewhere? What can one tell about the author of this source? Who does this source represent? What was going on in history when this source was created? What new information does this piece bring to the understanding of the topic? How does this source help me better understand my research question? How does this source help me better understand the topic?
Limitations	Limitations is also linked to bias, each source will be at least a little biased and thus they are limited by that. Do not state bias alone as a limitation. All sources have bias. Why is this source biased? How is this source biased? Has the source has been translated from the original? (i.e., Hitler's diary entry was translated into English by a historian and you're using the historian's book as a source) If so, then the language difference will be another source of inaccuracy and a limitation. What information was not available to the author when the source was created? Did the author get the information from a reliable source? Does the author have reason to emphasize certain facts over other facts? How might the source be different if it were presented to another audience?\ Does the author have personal involvement in the event? How might this effect the source? What specific information might the author has chosen to leave out? Why? Does the author concede that a certain point as is inconvenient for the author to admit? How might the historical context in which the document was created influence the interpretation of the document? What is the length of time between the creation of this source and the topic or event it relates to? How is this time difference important to our study of the topic? What should you be cautious about when using this source?

Thank you to Florida International University!

The following grid can help you understand OPVL by various types of sources

Type of Document	Origin	Purpose	Value	Limitation
Diary	Primary, by author for author, rarely published	To keep memories for later (sometimes with eye to publication)	Eyewitness to event and usually written immediately or shortly after occurred, rarely lies to oneself	Only one person’s view, there will be perspective issues, may be intended for publication therefore can even lie to oneself
Reminiscence	Primary, by author or interviewee	To offer an eyewitnesses’ perspective on an event	Eyewitness	Length of time between events and recollection can lead to loss of info, or changing of story, always perspective issues to be considered
Monograph	Usually by expert (often academic historian)	To educate colleagues, students, and the public (can be for monetary gain or promotion file)	Usually many years of primary research in archives and thorough knowledge of secondary works on topic	Always perspective issues, usually not an eyewitness, can err deliberately or accidently, not vey useful for quick overview since it will contain many pages of extraneous issues
General Text	Secondary, usually done by a panel of experts on country or topic	To educate students	Offers quick overview for student seeking quick information	Usually NOT an expert on every topic in text so there may be gaps and errors, may be too brief
Cartoon	Primary, done by artist for public at that time	To educate, entertain, and often to sell newspapers or magazines	Offer at least one person’s perspective on issue of the time, event	Don’t know how widespread it is, often exaggeration is used for comic effect
Speech	Primary	For public usually	Offers official view of speaker, it is what audience hears	May not be real views of the speaker, speeches are designed to sway opinion
Internal Memo	Primary	For internal examination amongst officials or government departments	Usually do not lie, so it is official view (as a speech) but private thoughts are often given too	Do not know what outsiders know, only what officials are saying to each other, may be fabricated

Thank you to Florida International University!

Primary v. Secondary Sources

Image Information

OPVL Worksheet (Word)
One worksheet for each source.
OPVL Worksheet (PDF)
One worksheet for each source

Website Evaluation Checker

Then answer the questions asked!

Website Evaluations from EasyBib

Web Site Evaluation Guide

Click Website Evaluation Guide from EasyBib, with detailed examples of sites that ARE credible, MAY BE credible and ARE NOT credible.

Fact Checker Sites

Fact Checker Sites

Find out if your website has any bias! Sometimes that is good, because you want to provide both sides of an issue.

All Sides Now
Unlike regular news services, AllSides exposes bias and provides multiple angles on the same story so you can quickly get the full picture, not just one slant.
FactCheck.org
We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.
FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania.
HoaxSlayer
dedicated to debunking email hoaxes, thwarting Internet scammers, combating spam, and educating web users about email and Internet security issues.
Open Secrets
Not exactly a Fact Checking website, but it does keep a tab on how much contribution does a representative of Congress gets from a specific company or a lobby group. You can see if this influences the decisions made by the person.
Politifact
Pulitizer Prize winning US National & State political fact checker
Quackwatch
"Guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions"
Snopes.com
"the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation."
Think Tanks & Policy Centers
From Columbia U. A comprehensive list of think tanks.