Explain and evaluate Sources for Credibility through the C.R.A.P. test and Determine How to Use Your Sources through the BEAM Research Method.
Find four sources for Project 1 from the San Jacinto College Library Databases and/or through the San Jac Super Search.
1. Use the C.R.A.P. test to evaluate the sources you found through the San Jacinto College Library databases. What are the results of using this method to evaluate your sources?
For each of the four sources, answer this question:
— Why is this source credible enough to use for Project 1 based on the C.R.A.P. test criteria? Just because the source can be found through the library, it still has to be evaluated for use because not everything found in the library is automatically worth using just by virtue of being in the library.
Type your answer here for each source:
2. The BEAM Framework was also presented to break down the different ways sources can be used.
Once you have determined that the articles are credible enough, categorize them in the chart below according to the BEAM Framework and determine how you can use your sources once you start writing. Looking over the chart you created, decide if the types of sources you have found and their uses match up with the assignment’s requirements. If they do not, you will need to go back to the research process to find other sources that do. If your assignment does not specify just one kind of source, it may be effective to make sure that you have found several types of sources that can be used in a variety of ways within the assignment to support your ideas.
BEAM CATEGORY
Type the title and author of your source in the correct box next to the kind of source it is.
It’s fine to include a source in more than one category if it fits the definitions.
If you do not have sources that fit into every category, that is fine, but for most assignments, having sources from several categories will benefit your writing. That means that if some of the categories have no source listed next to them, you may need to do some further research. My specification is four credible sources from the SJC databases/Super Search with at least one of those sources being an academic journal article and to have sources from a variety of the BEAM categories.
Briefly answer these questions:
What characteristics or content of the source caused you to put it in this category?
What ideas from the source do you think will be helpful for your assignment?
This column is for brainstorming ideas.
B: Background
E: Exhibit
A: Argument
M: Method
Joseph Bizup created the BEAM Framework that categorizes sources by the kind of information they provide and the ways writers use them in their writing. It offers further detail to the distinction between primary and secondary sources with the idea that for most (not all) writing assignments, students should use more than one category of source to strengthen their writing. The BEAM Framework can also be paired with the C.R.A.P. test for students to ensure breadth in their use of sources and to evaluate currency, relevance, authority, and purpose for those sources.
BEAM stands for
B: Background: these are sources such as encylopedias and other reference works that offer generally-accepted facts about a topic. They may or may not need to be cited depending on whether the facts are common knowledge.
E: Exhibit: students analyze exhibit sources themselves, so they are also usually classified as primary sources. They provide evidence and examples to support an idea. Examples are historical documents, literary works, films, diaries, or any article that the writer plans to analyze and interpret to support an idea through evidence and examples.
A: Argument: these sources make claims with which students can agree or disagree or synthesize with their own ideas.
M: Method: Method sources communicate theories, concepts, key terms, or data for a field of study, and writers use them to be able to apply a framework or theory that helps their analysis.
Embedded Video Player: Using your sources: The BEAM Research Model
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8tcQcr7SE
Embedded Video Player: Using the C.R.A.P. Test to Evaluate Websites
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYGQGDt1xXM
Embedded Video Player: Primary vs Secondary Sources
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K60zKR5Oat8
Embedded Video Player: Using the San Jacinto College Library Webpage
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_WxEsTBEdw
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics: Searching Databases Part 1
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIvrPPZmJ4w
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics: Searching Library Databases Part 2
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywLowtwu3eI
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics: Search More Than One EBSCO Database At A Time
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn_7FXRf9lU
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics Concept Maps
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB5EfoLrZXc
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics: Keywords
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTNhMoDXLEw
Embedded Video Player: Research Basics: Evaluating Websites
*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t165607VVM
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|