Gather Information and Assess Credibility

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Why Research Skills Matter: A Brief History

People have been gathering information and sharing it for thousands of years. Long before the internet, scholars had to figure out which sources to trust. Today, you face the same challenge — but with millions of websites at your fingertips. The skill of research (finding, evaluating, and using information) is more important now than ever.

3000 BCE

Ancient Libraries

The Sumerians stored records on clay tablets. Even then, scribes had to decide which records were accurate and worth keeping.

1450

The Printing Press

Gutenberg's printing press made books widely available. More information meant more need to check what was true.

1900s

Modern Citation Styles

Organizations like the MLA and APA created standard rules for giving credit to sources. This helped prevent plagiarism.

1991

The World Wide Web

The internet exploded with information — both reliable and unreliable. Search engines became the new library catalogs.

Today

Information Overload

Billions of web pages exist. Your ability to find good sources, spot bad ones, and cite correctly is a superpower.

So here's the big question: with so much information out there, how do you find what's reliable, use it fairly, and give proper credit? That's exactly what this lesson is about.

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Core Principles of Research and Credibility

Good research isn't just about finding information. It's about finding the right information. Let's break this standard into four core principles that will guide everything you do as a researcher.

Effective Searching

Use specific search terms (also called keywords) to find relevant results quickly. The better your search terms, the better your results.

Assessing Credibility

Check whether a source is credible (trustworthy and believable). Look at who wrote it, when, and why.

Quoting and Paraphrasing

Use an author's exact words (a quote) or restate ideas in your own words (a paraphrase). Both require giving credit.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism means using someone else's words or ideas without giving credit. Always cite your sources using a standard format like MLA.

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of research like cooking a meal. You wouldn't grab random ingredients off the shelf without checking the label. You'd read the ingredients, check the expiration date, and follow a recipe. Research works the same way — you pick the best sources, check that they're fresh and accurate, and follow a format (like a recipe) for citing them.

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The Research Process at a Glance

The diagram below shows the full research process as a flow. You start with a question, search for sources, evaluate what you find, take notes, and then write with proper citations. Notice how the process can loop back — if your sources aren't good enough, you search again!

This flowchart shows the seven steps of the research process. Notice the dashed arrow — if a source fails the credibility check, you loop back and search again. The boxes at the bottom show examples of print and digital sources.

As you can see, research is not a straight line. You might go back to step 2 or 3 several times before you have enough strong sources. That's completely normal. The key is using both print sources (books, newspapers, magazines) and digital sources (websites, databases, videos) to get a complete picture.

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How to Search Like a Pro

Have you ever typed a question into a search engine and gotten millions of results that didn't help? The secret is using the right search terms (the specific words you type into a search bar). Vague searches give vague results. Specific searches give useful results.

Three Rules for Better Search Terms

Be specific. Instead of searching "animals," try "endangered animals in the Amazon rainforest." Adding details narrows your results.
Use keywords, not full sentences. Instead of "What causes ocean pollution?" try "causes ocean pollution plastics." Search engines work best with key nouns and verbs.
Try synonyms. If "effects of global warming" gives too many results, try "consequences of climate change." Different words can lead to different sources.

Examples of weak vs. strong search terms

Weak Search	Strong Search	Why It's Better
"water"	"water pollution causes Great Lakes"	Specific topic, specific location
"space stuff"	"Mars rover discoveries 2024"	Named subject, time frame
"Why is history important?"	"importance studying history education"	Keywords instead of a full question

💡 Pro Tip

Put quotation marks around a phrase in your search to find that exact phrase. For example, searching "coral reef bleaching" will only show results with those three words together. This is super helpful for research topics.

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How to Evaluate Source Credibility

Not every source you find is trustworthy. A random blog post is not the same as a report from NASA. To figure out whether a source is credible (reliable and accurate), you can use the CRAAP Test. Yes, that's really what it's called! It stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.

The CRAAP Test helps you evaluate every source. The bottom boxes show a quick guide to source trustworthiness. Note: Wikipedia can be great for starting your research, but you should follow its sources to the original material.

When you look at the diagram, pay special attention to the bottom row. Sources ending in .gov (government), .edu (education), and .org (organizations) are usually more reliable. However, always apply the CRAAP Test — even a .org site can have a strong bias.

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Worked Example: Researching Ocean Pollution

Let's walk through a complete example. Imagine you're writing a research paper about the effects of plastic pollution on ocean life. Here's how you'd go through the entire process.

From Search to Citation: A Step-by-Step Example

Step 1 — Choose Effective Search TermsYour topic is "effects of plastic pollution on ocean life." Instead of searching "ocean pollution," you type: "plastic pollution" effects marine animals. The quotation marks around "plastic pollution" keep those words together, and the extra keywords narrow your results.

Search terms: "plastic pollution" effects marine animals

Step 2 — Find a Source and Evaluate ItYou find an article from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at oceanservice.noaa.gov. You apply the CRAAP Test: It was updated in 2023 (Currency ✅). It's about ocean plastic (Relevance ✅). NOAA is a government science agency (Authority ✅). It cites scientific studies (Accuracy ✅). Its purpose is to inform, not sell something (Purpose ✅).

Source passes all five CRAAP criteria — it is credible.

Step 3 — Take Notes Using Quotes and ParaphrasesThe NOAA article says: "An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, harming over 800 marine species." You decide to use the exact words as a direct quote in your paper. You also paraphrase another section: According to NOAA, sea turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and eat them, which can be fatal.

Quote: "An estimated 8 million metric tons..." | Paraphrase: Sea turtles mistake plastic for jellyfish.

Step 4 — Write an MLA CitationFor your Works Cited page, you format the source in MLA style. The basic MLA format for a website is: Author Last Name, First Name. "Title of Article." Website Name, Publisher, Day Month Year, URL. Since NOAA is both the author and publisher, the citation looks like this:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Ocean Pollution and Marine Debris." NOAA Ocean Service, 15 Mar. 2023, oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/.

Step 5 — Add an In-Text CitationIn MLA style, you also add a short in-text citation (inside parentheses) right after the quote or paraphrase. Since there's no individual author name, you use a shortened version of the organization or article title. Your sentence would look like: According to NOAA, "An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year" (National Oceanic).

In-text citation: (National Oceanic)

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Quoting vs. Paraphrasing: What's the Difference?

When you use information from a source, you have two choices: you can quote (use the author's exact words inside quotation marks) or paraphrase (rewrite the idea in your own words). Both require a citation. If you don't cite, it's plagiarism — even if you paraphrased.

Quoting vs. Paraphrasing comparison

	Quoting	Paraphrasing
What is it?	Using the author's exact words	Restating the idea in your own words
Punctuation	Must use quotation marks " "	No quotation marks needed
Citation needed?	Yes — always	Yes — always
When to use	The exact wording is important or powerful	You want to explain the idea more simply
Example	"8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year" (NOAA).	Each year, roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean (NOAA).

✦ KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of quoting like taking a screenshot — you capture the exact image. Paraphrasing is like describing a screenshot to a friend — you explain the same content in your own way. Both times, you still need to say where the screenshot came from!

⚠️ What Is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own. It includes copying text without quotation marks, paraphrasing without citing, and even turning in someone else's work. Plagiarism is considered a serious offense in school and in the professional world. The easiest way to avoid it is simple: always give credit.

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Standard Citation Formats: MLA Basics

A citation is a note that tells your reader exactly where you found your information. In 7th grade, you'll most likely use MLA format (created by the Modern Language Association). There are other styles like APA and Chicago, but MLA is the most common in English and writing classes.

Common MLA citation formats for different source types

Source Type	MLA Works Cited Format
Book	Last, First. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
Website	Author Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL.
Magazine Article	Author Last, First. "Title of Article." Magazine Name, Day Month Year, pp. page numbers.
Video	"Title of Video." Website Name, uploaded by Creator, Day Month Year, URL.

As you move into high school, you'll encounter other citation styles. APA format is used mostly in science and social studies classes. Chicago style is used in history. For now, mastering MLA gives you a strong foundation. The big idea is the same across all styles: tell your reader who said it, what they said, and where you found it.

🔮 Looking Ahead

In high school and college, you'll learn to create annotated bibliographies (citations with summaries), evaluate sources for bias in greater depth, and use advanced database searches. The skills you're building right now are the foundation for all of that.

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Practice Problems

PROBLEM 1 — CONCEPTUAL

What does the "A" for Authority in the CRAAP Test mean? Why is it important to check who wrote a source?

PROBLEM 2 — BASIC

You need to research the causes of the American Revolution. Which of these is a better set of search terms, and why? Option A: "American Revolution" Option B: "causes American Revolution taxes colonies"

PROBLEM 3 — INTERMEDIATE

Read the following original text from a source: "Honeybees are responsible for pollinating approximately 80% of all flowering plants in the United States." Now read two student responses. Which one is a proper paraphrase, and which one is plagiarism? Student A: Honeybees are responsible for pollinating about 80% of all flowering plants in the U.S. Student B: In the United States, honeybees help pollinate around 80 percent of flowering plants (Smith 12).

PROBLEM 4 — APPLIED

You're writing a report about whether video games affect kids' sleep. You find two sources: Source 1 is a 2023 article from the National Institutes of Health (nih.gov) with data from a study of 500 children. Source 2 is a 2018 blog post by a gamer named "NightOwlGamer" who says video games don't affect sleep at all. Using the CRAAP Test, evaluate both sources and explain which you would use in your paper.

PROBLEM 5 — CRITICAL THINKING

A classmate says, "I found all my information on Wikipedia, so I just cited Wikipedia as my source." Explain at least two problems with this approach. Then describe a better strategy the classmate could use.

SUMMARY

Putting It All Together

Strong research starts with effective search terms — use specific keywords, not full sentences. Gather information from both print and digital sources for a well-rounded picture. Before you use any source, run it through the CRAAP Test to check its Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Look for credible sources like .gov, .edu, and established organizations.

When you include others' ideas, you can quote (use exact words in quotation marks) or paraphrase (rewrite in your own words). Either way, you must cite your sources using a standard format like MLA to avoid plagiarism. Remember: always give credit where credit is due. These skills will serve you in every class and every grade to come.