Marcelle: Civics Research: Websites

• No Wikipedia
   
• No "Answer" websites:  Ask.com;  Answers.com; etc.
   
• No Blogs
   
• Look at the top level domain (.gov, .edu, .org, .com).  Generally .gov  and .edu sites are the most trustworthy, followed by .org and then .com.
   
• .gov = government website. Always good to use.
   
• .edu = college/university website   Generally good to use, but make sure .edu site is not a student project.  If it is student work, don't use it.  
   
• .org = nonprofit/organization.   You need to look at these with more caution. Some (not all) organizations can be biased. 
   
• .com = commercial/for profit company   You need to look at these with the most caution.  Are they trying to sell you something?  Are they a trusted company?   If you don't know who they are, then you need to find out before using.  There are some good .com websites to use for research.  Many newspaper and news organizations are .coms and they are fine to use.  
   
• When you find a website you would like to use, make sure you identify the publisher of the website and determine if the publisher is knowledgeable and trustworthy. 
   
• The publisher can usually be found at the bottom of the website near the copyright date.  Sometimes the publisher's name is underlined (hyperlinked) and you can click on it and find information about the company.   If the publisher's name is not at the bottom, check the "Contact Us", "About Us" or "FAQs".  If you can't find information there, try "Googling" the publisher's name for more information.  If you still can't find any information, don't use the website.  

How to Create a Website Citation for an Individual Article/Page in Noodletools

1. In NoodleTools, click the sources button to the right of the project title you want to work on.

3.  Click on the green New Source button at the top right:  

4.  Choose Website:  

5.  Then choose from the list what you are citing.  Most of the time you will choose Web Page for articles you find on Websites.   

6.  Complete the fields that NoodleTools provides.  They will vary depending on what you are citing.   

• Fill in the URL at the top.  (Example: https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/14/university-graduate-child-genius/index.html).
• Date of Publication is the date of the article.  If two dates are given, choose the most recent date. If you can’t find a date, leave it blank.  
• Date of Access - click today.
• Contributors, change role to Author.   If your article has an author, fill in their name.  If no author, leave blank. If more than one author, click on +Add Contributor and fill in their name.
• Make sure you add the Article Title. This is often skipped by students, but you need to fill it in. 
• 
• Fill in Name of Website - Usually found in the top left corner or the top of the page. 
• For the Publisher, look near the copyright date at the bottom to find the publisher.  If you cannot find it there, look for an About Us or Contact Us page.
• If the Publisher's name is the SAME as the website title or the author, leave the publisher box blank.

7. Click on the blue SAVE button at the top.  

Domain:  .gov, .edu, .org, .com

Website Title:  Usually found in top left hand corner or sometimes top center

Article Title:  Can also be called webpage title

Author:  Usually found near article title or at the end of the article

Date:   Usually found near article title or at the end of the article

Publisher/Sponsor:  Found at bottom of page near copyright date.©