Research
Avila College’s library team have put together detailed research guides to help you with your assignments. You can use them through the library site, save them to your own drive or print them. Click the link of your desired topic.
Research Guides
Research Skills
Websites can be useful sources of research for assignments and projects, but how do you evaluate the quality and accuracy of their content?
Use this checklist to help you evaluate web sites for Authority, Accuracy; Purpose, Content, Currency, Design, Organization, and Ease of Use. It will assist you to determine whether or not a particular site should be considered as a source of information for a paper or project.
By using the checklist, you will be able to evaluate a web site, as well as learn why these different aspects are things that should be considered when looking to use a web site as a source. Fill it out on the computer, print it, then turn it in to your instructor, or keep it for your own use. Alternately you may print a copy and write your answers in.
State Library Victoria share practical tips on how to evaluate online sources for reliability and how to access services and collections at State Library Victoria to aid your research.
For resources relating to plagiarism, visit Nothing Beats the Real Thing.
What is plagiarism?
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another’s work or borrowing someone else’s original ideas. But terms like “copying” and “borrowing” can disguise the seriousness of the offence:
According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, ‘plagiarism’ means:
- to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own
- to use (another’s production) without crediting the source
- to commit literary theft
- to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source
In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else’s work and lying about it afterward.