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MERLOT II

Peer Review

Guide to Library Research: Citing Sources

 

Ratings

Overall Rating:

 4.75 stars
Content Quality: 4.75 stars
Effectiveness: 4.75 stars
Ease of Use: 4.75 stars
Reviewed: Sep 21, 2008 by Library and Information Services
Overview: A comparative style guide for bibliographic references in the styles of APA (4th ed.), Chicago (14th ed.), MLA (5th ed.), and Turabian (6th ed.). For each item (book, journal article etc.) a sample citation is given in each style. Includes Web sites.
Learning Goals: To teach, by example, the rudiments of citing MLA, APA, CSE, and Chicago and Turabian
Target Student Population: high school, college
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills: Basic computer skills are needed to follow the links; a basic knowledge on citing sources would be beneficial in understanding the examples given.
Type of Material: Reference material.
Recommended Uses: Recommended for in class demonstration, library orientation, course requiring research paper and for individual use.
Technical Requirements: HTML

Evaluation and Observation

Content Quality

Rating: 4.75 stars
Strengths: Examples are clear, they are varied and offer students an opportunity to see examples of the application of the different citation styles to specific text types.
Concerns: In the Citing Sources Within the paper section there is no summary of the Chicago Manual of Style. Instead, the author suggests the user consult the guide directly. Since there is synoptic information included for all the other style manuals, its omission for Chicago Style creates a deficiency in the presentation.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating: 4.75 stars
Strengths: This guide can effectively be used by students wishing to check their in-text and bibliographic notations in their papers. The Assembling a List of Works Cited section provides students a nice comparative list of examples amongst different styles.
Concerns: None

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating: 4.75 stars
Strengths: Easy to use and well laid out. Two main areas: one is about citing sources within the paper, and the other shows how to complete the work cited page at the end of the paper.
Concerns: Looking at the code, it appears as if cascading tables were used. For this reviewer, the Chicago Manual of Style page (http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/within/chicago.html) consistently, and the CSE page (http://library.duke.edu/research/citing/within/cse.html) intermittently, overlapped the left hand menu table into the right hand page content table. If fixed it would enhance effectiveness of the website.
Other Issues and Comments: This is an effective, handy reference tool.