RESEARCH = LOCATE, EVALUATE, and APPLY!
Where to Start my Search?
In order to compare two countries, you'll need to begin by collecting current data/statistics on each country. In addition to the one(s) you are already using, try these if you need additional info:
Culturegrams
United Nations Statistical Yearbook for Asia (2012)
WorldBank East Asia and Pacific Data and Statistics
Culturegrams
United Nations Statistical Yearbook for Asia (2012)
WorldBank East Asia and Pacific Data and Statistics
It's not Enough! I Need More Than Just Statistical Information...
You also need "Documentary Evidence", "Anecdotes/Personal Stories", and "Expert Opinion". So, think about how to refine your search so that you can find these different types of sources. Add specific search terms to your country name to narrow down your results. Keep adding search terms if you need to:
Example 1:
"Laos + anecdotes" =
Laos Anecdotes-137 photos of service and scenery (2011.11.04) webpage
But, "Laos + anecdotes + millenium goals" =
"Lao assesses cost of meeting millennium goals" article
Keep going, "Laos + anecdotes + millenium goals + United Nations" =
"Assessment of Development Results Lao PDR" report
Example 2:
Let's try again. "Laos + expert opinion" =
"Legal expert" job posting
But, "Laos + expert opinion + millenium goals" =
"Community health workers help achieve millenium goals" newspaper article
Keep going, "Laos + expert opinion + millenium goals + education" =
"UNESCO Lao PDR Country Programming Report 2012" report
Example 1:
"Laos + anecdotes" =
Laos Anecdotes-137 photos of service and scenery (2011.11.04) webpage
But, "Laos + anecdotes + millenium goals" =
"Lao assesses cost of meeting millennium goals" article
Keep going, "Laos + anecdotes + millenium goals + United Nations" =
"Assessment of Development Results Lao PDR" report
Example 2:
Let's try again. "Laos + expert opinion" =
"Legal expert" job posting
But, "Laos + expert opinion + millenium goals" =
"Community health workers help achieve millenium goals" newspaper article
Keep going, "Laos + expert opinion + millenium goals + education" =
"UNESCO Lao PDR Country Programming Report 2012" report
It's Time to Evaluate Your Information Sources
Not all websites are created equal! When you want information you can count on, you should consider the following factors when evaluating each website:
Website Evaluation Checklist
- Authority: Is the author an expert in the field?
- Purpose: What is the intended audience of the website?
- Objectivity: Does the website provide factual information in an unbiased way?
- Accuracy: Can you identify who the creator of the website is and is there a way to contact them?
- Currency: How old is the information?
Website Evaluation Checklist
Writing an Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography includes a citation, a summary and an evaluation of each of your sources. For the annotation, you are answering two key questions:
Summary: What types of information did the source provide? (2 sentences)
Evaluate: Was the information valuable to you? If so, how? (2 sentences)
Example:
"Achieving the MDGs with Equity." Vietnam and the MDGs. United Nations Program, Oct. 2012. Web. 21 May 2013.
www.undp.progress.org/vietnam
www.undp.progress.org/vietnam
This article provided statistical information on the MDG goal of reducing poverty being undertaken by the government of Vietnam. It used data to compare 1993 to 2008 in order to show the remarkable progress Vietnam has made. These statistics were current enough for me to use to make my assertion that Vietnam has made more progress than Malaysia in reducing poverty. The article was very useful because it broke down the data into different categories of poverty, including my focus area, childhood poverty.
Citations
Use the following citation generator to create your MLA-formatted annotated citations: