Checkpoint #3

5+ Sources saved and cited in your Noodletools project.

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Description

You're starting.  You're going to peruse sources thoroughly enough to decide if they're useful, but you're not taking notes just yet. 

Evaluate your source for credibility: Do you trust the source?  Where does it come from? What knowledge or authority does the author have on this topic?

Now, bear in mind that you'll need at least 5 sources from the Digital Maine Library.  You can hit these now, or later, but you'll need 5. The advantage of the Digital Maine Library is that most of the MLA citation information is automatically linked to Noodletools.  It's a pretty slick time saver. 

We've set up our NoodleTools project in class. Now it's time to search the Digital Maine Library databases for some good sources and connect them to our project..

Look for the quotation marks at the top of the page and/or the word "Cite".


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Learning Goal

Learning to evaluate credible and reliable information.

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How I Meet the Checkpoint

Have 5 cited resources from the databases in your Noodletools I-Search project (Sources tab).  You can either import the citations automatically or create them yourself (like from "Easybib") in your Noodletools doc by clicking "New Source".

You don't have to take notes yet- we'll go over that next class, but be sure to get a sense for what each source can give you and  which one you'll  start with when you begin taking official notes.

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Due Date

Thursday, Feb. 2

Search tips

  1. Use Advanced Search - Aways use "Advanced Search".  This allows you to add many keywords to make your search ultra-specific for what you are seeking.  If you don't  find anything, take one out and search again. 
  2. Know what type of article you find  - Pay attention to the difference between a "Magazine", "News" and "Academic Journal".  Oftentimes, research studies are incredibly dense.  (You only really need to pay attention to the findings of these, not the methodology).
  3. Play with filters - Change the date rages, the source types, and the subject to refine your search.
  4. Pay attention potential keywords - You don't know what you don't know.  So, as you find results and begin to peruse articles, you'll learn what information is out there about your topic and the way it is discussed in the world.  There will likely be new words, concepts and variants on your topic that you hadn't considered.  Pay attention to these for future searches.
  5. Put the "I" in I-Search- This is your quest. Treat the search as a puzzle to be worked, a game to be played.  There are many ways to come at the search.  Play with them all.  You'll get frustrated sometimes  and  you'll have breakthroughs sometimes.  Try to enjoy the hunt.

"Things themselves possess no fixed and intrinsic amount of interest; instead things are interesting just as long as you have attention to give them."

– Annie Dillard