Rachel Kramer
Research Librarian
she/her/hers
MCC Learning Commons
rkramer@mclennan.edu
254-299-8390
The videos below have tips for evaluating info on the Internet.
It's hard to tell whether you can trust the information you find on the Internet. The first step is to check the trustworthiness of the website where you found the info.
This video teaches you to investigate a website's credibility.
Sometimes the same info is available from various sources on the Internet. When investigating whether that info is true, you must investigate the right source.
This video offers tips for finding the original source of online info.
It's important to know how to find trustworthy websites and have a list for fact checking.
This video explains how to create your own list of trustworthy sites.
It's hard to know who to trust on the Internet. Just because a person is an expert on one topic doesn't mean they are qualified to make judgments on another topic.
This video explains how to judge a person's expertise.
The internet also has great sources for your research assignments! However, it can be difficult to know which internet sources are appropriate and which aren't. The videos and boxes below will teach you to use Google Scholar and Wikipedia responsibly, and will also teach you how to evaluate information you find on the internet.
Unlike regular Google, Google Scholar searches only for scholarly literature and academic sources. That's why it's a better resource for college assignments than regular Google.
Much of what is in Google Scholar is also in the library databases, which you can search using the library search engine.
Some of what you find in Google Scholar is not in the library databases. Of these items, some are available for free, but others are behind paywalls. If you are asked to pay to view the entire article, it is behind a paywall.
Never pay to access a scholarly article! If you find something in Google Scholar that's not available from the MCC Library, request it through interlibrary loan for free!
You can customize Google Scholar to link to articles from the MCC Library.
Click the Full-Text @ MCC Library beside the article to access it. For results not at the MCC Library, you may get free full text or be asked to pay for it.
Are you struggling to find research materials, use library databases, or write citations and references? Our research librarians can help!
Just need a little help? Visit the Learning Commons desk on the top floor of the Learning Technology Center (LTC), or contact us via live chat or at 254-299-8325.
Need a lot of help? Schedule a research consultation with one of our research librarians. It's their job to help you succeed!
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
Academic Support and Tutoring (AST) provides free tutoring to students (including writing and citation assistance), as well as support and tutorials for college software.
AST offers in-person support on the main and top floors of the Learning Technology Center (LTC). You can also reach out to AST via phone or email.
Use the link above to learn more.
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock.
You've heard that you shouldn't use Wikipedia for college assignments. Have you wondered why? Here are two reasons you shouldn't cite Wikipedia articles as a source:
1. Most Wikipedia articles can be edited by anyone, which means they may have errors or bias. Wikipedia's supporters claim that because so many people look at the articles, incorrect information can be quickly corrected. They have a point, but Wikipedia just isn't currently acceptable as a source.
2. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and encyclopedias are too broad and general to be good research sources. Most professors won't allow you to use any encyclopedia articles, even ones from the library, as a source.
Even though you can't use Wikipedia as a final source, you can still use it during the research process. Wikipedia can help you do three things:
1. Get a general overview of a topic. If you don't know much about a topic, Wikipedia can provide a general overview of the subtopics and people or organizations involved.
2. Find keywords. Wikipedia articles define key terms related to a topic. Once you find these terms, you can use them to search the library's databases and Google Scholar.
3. Find more reliable sources. Most Wikipedia articles have a list of references, or sources, at the bottom of the page. Some won't be reliable, like personal blog posts, but others will be very reliable, like scholarly articles.
This video is from Penn State, but the tips can be used with the MCC Library, too!
