COM 215: Evaluating & Citing Sources

An introduction to library resources for Stephen Fox's Conflict Resolution class.

Cite Your Sources!

For this class, you are required to use the APA (American Psychological Association) citation style.

Here are some resources to help you get started with citations:

APA at Purdue (OWL)

A comprehensive, authority source for everything APA.

Citation Machine

This is an online citation generator - it can help create the correct formatting of citations in APA (and other citation styles). Allows references to be copied and pasted into a Bibliography. Note: ALWAYS DOUBLE CHECK THE CITATIONS it creates for you.

* You can also review the Citing Sources guide for more help with citation basics and style guides.

APA Tip Sheet - Click the link below to download a useful instructional handout with examples to help you build proper citations for your bibliography.

APA Tip Sheet

Evaluating Your Sources

Are your sources crappy or not? Evaluate your sources using this CRAAP test.

The CRAAP Test
Click above to view a CRAAP Test evaluation sheet.


Currency: -- When was the information created?; -- Does your topic require updated information?; Relevance; -- Does the information relate to your paper/project?; -- Is it written at an appropriate level? (not too advanced or elementary)
Authority: -- Is the author qualified to write on this subject?; -- Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?; Accuracy; -- Where does the information come from?; -- Is the information supported by legitimate sources?; Purpose; -- Why was the site created (advertising, share knowledge, entertainment)?; -- Do the authors make their intentions clear?