Engineering 190W - Spring 2024 - Bach Sections

When using Online or Internet Resources, consider Search Engines vs. metasites - evaluate resource - be attentive to domain -may include .com, .edu, .org, .gov, .net

Evaluation of evaluating strategies - there are many different strategies and this guide highlights two, CRAAP and S.I.F.T. and at the end I will also note some other methods - but consider the following criteria:

Applying the CRAAP Test - for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose

https://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf

Goal is to establish relevancy.  The evaluation criteria includes these issues:

Scope of coverage

Currency – be able to distinguish currency from timeliness

Relevance – meaningful to what audience; at what level; will you cite it as authoritative?

Authority – stem is author – establishes the source of the information – author/publisher/source/sponsor; organizational affiliations & credentials; contact information

Accuracy – reliability, correctness of content; supported by evidence; is it verifiable; is tone unbiased, objective, impartial & free of emotion; free of errors?

Purpose – are hypotheses and authors’ intentions clear?  Why is content important – to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?  Any political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

Ease of use – Capturing, copying, citing; design & presentation

Another method to evaluate is S.I.F.T - so:

• CCOW - for Credentials, Claims, Objectives
• RADAR Test - Relevancy, Authority, Date, Appearance, Reason for Writing

Remember when we cite or quote, we are CHOOSING to bring other voices into our paper or scholarly work.

Let's ask, Why we cite?

• to give credit to authors
• to show your work
• to be a responsible researcher
• to avoid plagiarism

Often called Citation Chasing we have the standard two parts:

• Backward chasing - refers to the set of references or bibliography of a work that has influenced current citation
• Forward chasing - refers to the method of future citations that referenced the specific work - may be more nuanced or specific but also provides new applications

Think of 5 criteria you use to evaluate information and what questions to you ask yourself to determine relevancy or whether your information need is met?

• consider that we are on information overload - how to distinguish between accurate information & misinformation
• transition from reading vertically (CRAAP) vs laterally - use 4 moves, known as S.I.F.T, with these action items:
  • stop - open up a browser tab & enter a search term
  • investigate the source(s) - who wrote or said this? who is the author? what process or methodology was used to produce this information and what systems are in place with this source to catch mistakes and correct them?
  • find better coverage - consult other sources, demonstrating the historical context, disciplinary approaches, are there patterns of perspectives or dominant ideas that emerge, and what voices are missing?
  • trace things back to the original context - is the evidence misquoted or misrepresented; where is the data from & how was it collected and can we make legitimate conclusions from it?
  • watch this video on lateral reading strategies (3.47) from the Civic Online Reasoning curriculum, co-sponsored by the Stanford History Education Group

In order to avoid plagiarism and to honor intellectual integrity, make sure that you cite the authority in a bibliographic reference to anything that is not your original writing or creation - that means when you quote a passage, insert a graphic image, figures, or illustration, that you cite the original source. The style manual you choose to follow should document how you cite electronic resources. Examples of resources that support multiple style manuals is noted in the Quick Reference Guide for Writing.  A specific book that addresses several style manuals including IEEE is Cite Them Right. (2022).   Standard formats include the following reference elements:

Standard formats include the following reference elements:

For a Journal article or conference proceeding:

Author(s) - last name, first name, MI, - [include multiple authors if noted] (date), Title of article. Source of Article/Title of Journal. volume #, (issue #): pages. If it is only an electronic publication with no reference to print pages, then you cite the DOI - Digital Object Identifier and the date last visited.

If it is a conference paper, then you cite the Source of the Publication, Title of conference, date and location of meeting.

For books, the format is:

Author, editor of volume or chapter, (imprint date). Title of chapter in Title of Book, edited by editor if different. City of Publication: Publisher, page references. Note if it is an eBook.

For full volume:

Author, (date). Title of Book. City of Publisher, Publisher: pages

There are numerous different style guides and for this course you will use the APA Style Manual noted below in red.

IEEE Citation Style - The IEEE Editorial Style Manual (2019) notes the specific ways that references and footnotes are to be handled in submissions to IEEE publications.  The IEEE Referencing Guide notes practices and they are different than other styles, so follow this and perhaps these guides from the following university libraries will give more examples:  Murdoch University or Purdue University's Owl series for IEEE.

ACM Style Manual - supports the Association of Computing Machinery publications.

Comparison of Computer Science/Engineering Style Manuals - Compares IEEE, ACM and APA for every form of output.

*MLA Style Format is documented in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 2009 at any of the UCI Library Reference Desks at      REF LB 2369 G53 2009

*APA Style Format  - The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th ed., 2020 is at every Reference Desk - REF BF76.7 .P83 2020.  Additional resources with examples are noted at this site. A cheat sheet with many examples of how to cite different types of sources in many formats can be consulted.  

Chicago Style Manual - an online version of the Chicago Style Manual is now available

Other hints:

1. Avoid plagiarism, be ethical – OVERCITE!
   Plagiarism: what it is and how to recognize and avoid it. A guide prepared by the Writing Tutorial Services, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN http://www.indiana.edu/~wts?plagiarism.html

    

2. Consult http://www.turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection program - ask your professor if you are interested in this.

    

3. Be consistent

    

4. Work on your presentation skills
   • very important now
   • when interviewing for job

    

5. For additional information, consult with instructor, librarian, examine your style manual.