Research+Tips

=Some things to remember when you're working on research:=
 * DON'T use Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a user-generated encyclopedia and not all information found here is accurate. However, you may be able to use a Wikipedia entry as a stepping stone for your research. Sometimes you can find some really good sources listed in the Works Cited sections on the Wikipedia page. If you think they may help you, try to check them out.


 * Our school (and alternately county) library newspaper resources are limited. Because of this, I will let you use the NC Wise Owl High School website found here and count it as a print source.


 * I expect you to accurately cite each and every one of your sources. Copying and pasting a url address does NOT count as a citation! You must cite all of your sources in MLA format. For help with this, you can go to Son of Citation Machine or Easy Bib. Easy Bib is a little more current than Son of Citation Machine, but if you're trying to cite in anything other than MLA, they want you to join their site and pay a membership fee. If you'd prefer a more in-depth, detailed description of MLA formatting and the research process, you can check out The OWL at Purdue's website. They have tips that will help you in all your academic research.
 * I recommend that you create a citation for each source you're using AS YOU GO ALONG. That way, you don't get to the end and realize that you're missing information. Copying down all the necessary information while it is still fresh will help prevent this common error.


 * Just because a url ends in .com, .org, or .edu, it does NOT mean it is a reliable source. You must ALWAYS read over each site to verify its reliability. Don't worry, the "bad" ones are usually pretty easy to spot; you should recognize them fairly quickly.