HIS 101: History of Western Civilization I (CampbellS-Loudoun)

You must select a website dealing with the topic you are using for your Research Paper and compare it with an article on the same basic subject  from a history-focused scholarly journal.  Then in a 2 page, double-spaced paper write a comparative analysis of one article as a source of historical information.  Websites should not be primary source documents, Wikipedia pages, or reprints of articles published elsewhere.  You may not complete this assignment unless you have received my approval for your sources.

For more information, please review the Source Criticism Paper assignment in your Canvas course.

Search Google for your topic keywords. Look for government, education, and/or organization webpages as well as news/magazine publications. Be cautious if using Wikipedia as the content cannot be verified.

Before using information found on a webpage, consider the following criteria to evaluate its credibility.

• Who is the author?
• What are his/her qualifications?
• Why was the website created?
• When was it last updated?
• How reliable is the information?

For further guidance, please refer to NOVA Libraries' How to...Evaluate Websites research guide.

The best way to locate articles is through the library databases.  Go to Databases by Subject and look under the category History (HIS) to find a list of relevant databases. You can also perform a search in the databases below.

• Do not enter complete sentences in the search box. Use relevant topics or keywords to perform your search.
• Put the word AND between search terms; women AND ancient Egypt.
• Connect related terms using OR; social conditions OR sociocultural OR society.
• Look for additional keywords or subjects offered.
• Look for toolbars that provide print, email, and citation options.