What is the author trying to do with his/her article?

Your task is to find academically appropriate sources and to articulate why they are appropriate.

Instructions

Using the online library, Google Scholar, or other resources, locate four (4) total sources matching these types:

A book or chapter from a book. Please do not use textbooks. Tip: click on “Library” to your left. Then, click on “Books and EBooks” over the search bar to target books. You may wish to use filters to target more recent sources and narrow the list of results.

A scholarly article. This means peer-reviewed articles from academic journals. Tip: using the library, search under “Everything” and then select “Peer-review” when you get your search results.

A report or article published by a government organization or agency (including intergovernmental organizations if appropriate)

A report or article published by a reputable nongovernmental organization (such as an NGO)

Once you identify your four sources, please provide the following information:

Step 1: Include your thesis statement at the top of the page. Your thesis is your answer to the research question.Why Mexicans Migrated to the United States? It asserts the main argument you will be developing and supporting in your final project. This should be one sentence stating a claim that requires the support of your research. It is the claim that you are setting out to support with evidence.

Step 2: Provide an evaluation of each of the four sources. For each one, list the following:

Cite. Name the type of source (book, scholarly article, etc.) and provide a full reference. You can use Chicago, MLA, or Turabian as long as it’s consistent throughout the document.

Summarize. Provide a short description of the contents of the source. This is purely descriptive — here you do not editorialize the source but simply describe what it contains. If it has an argument, state accurately what the argument is without stating whether you like it or not. Then mention what kinds of data or information the article provides to support itself.

Assess. Evaluate the strengths of the source using this checklist (You can find a detailed version of this list here: https://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/eval_websites.pdf):

Currency. When was the source published? Is anything outdated?

Relevance. Who is the source written for? Does it relate to the field of study of your paper or another field?

Authority. What are the author’s qualifications and credentials? What institutions or universities is he/she affiliated with?

Accuracy. Can you tell where the information came from? Has it come from a reputable source that you can verify?

Purpose. What is the author trying to do with his/her article? Is the goal to make an argument, to educate, to challenge an idea, or something else?

Reflect. State how the source serves your thesis and your research project (2-3 sentences). Articulate how the article has shaped your thinking about your topic and what arguments or ideas of your own it informs.

Repeat these steps for all four sources. This will pay off on your work for the final paper since you will already have four vetted, evaluated sources to work with. Assuming your eight sources relate to the final topic well, you are done with the research component of your final paper!

Please don’t hesitate to write with any questions.