• What type of website is it? A .edu, .gov, or even .org site often comes from a reputable source, such as a university, governmental organization, or professional organization. Such websites can be trusted as reliable and credible authorities on a range of topics.
• Is an author listed? If so, run a quick search on the author (or look for an About page) to find out about the author’s background and expertise. Does it relate to the website’s content? If you can’t find an author or can’t deem the author credible, don’t use the website.
• Is there a date that the content was published? Not every source you use has to be recent, but websites that aren’t monitored might be offering outdated or even inaccurate information.
• Is the website selling a product? Often, retail websites attract visitors by offering articles that promote their products. These sources are biased and often developed without much research just to increase site hits.
• Does the site offer original content? Many “content mills” on the web, which Google is quickly eliminating from search results, repurpose content from other sources. If the information includes a list of references, check them out — you might be able to find a more legitimate original source elsewhere on the web.

Use your best judgment when it comes to selecting web sources. If the website doesn’t seem legitimate, it probably isn’t. The Internet makes a wealth of information on a range of topics more accessible. By choosing reputable, credible web sources, you can bolster the legitimacy of your paper. Choose wisely.

Wikis have gained popularity in recent years, allowing web users from across the globe to collaborate on projects and share ideas and information. Wikis are even used in the classroom for projects, and when used appropriately, they can be effective learning tools. However, wikis aren’t exactly a reputable web source.

When you search for nearly any term, chances are a Wikipedia entry for the term is going to pop up on the first page of your search results, especially if you’re using Google. Wikipedia looks professional; it sells itself as an online encyclopedia, and you’ve probably been using encyclopedias for research since middle school. However, using Wikipedia as a source is a risky endeavor.

Wikipedia entries (and many other wikis) are developed anonymously. You have no way to verify the credibility of the author, his or her background or experience, or even the accuracy of the content. Wikipedia entries might sound legitimate — and, surely, some of the content is accurate — but anonymous-source webpages are not accurate or reputable sources.

You can use Wikipedia to your advantage, however. Scroll to the bottom of the entry to the References list. Here, you’ll find the sources that the wiki contributors used to develop the content. You can often find legitmate .edu or .gov sites in the References list. Use these direct, not to mention more reputable, sources when conducting research.

Tomorrow, we’ll discuss ways to evaluate the legitimacy and reliability of a web source.

• Narrow your search results to focus on reputable websites. You can search within a specific type of website, such as .edu or.gov, which are often the most reputable sites out there. In your search bar, type the search term followed by site:.edu or site:.gov. This will narrow the search results to websites within this domain.
• Visit online libraries and databases. Often, the best sources on the web are ones that originated in hard-copy form. There are countless databases where you can search academic literature and journal articles, allowing you to discover reputable, published studies on the web. Your school library’s website is a smart place to start your search.
• Try Google Scholar. You can search scholarly literature across disciplines in one quick search.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our web research series tomorrow!

In the meantime, please continue to send us your projects for June! We are checking email during vacation and scheduling projects for the remainder of the summer!

We have an interesting new blog series to share while we are away. Check back next week for a series of posts dedicated to web research!

Editing

• Dissertation proposals/theses/dissertations (75+ pages): 7-10 days
• Academic papers, journal articles, and small business materials (up to 50 pages): 2-3 days
• Books (100+ pages): 10- to 14-day minimum depending on length of book

Writing

• Short blog posts (up to 300 words): 1 day
• Long blog posts (300+ words): 1-2 days
• Informational web articles (500 to 750 words): 2-3 days

Our schedule is typically created weeks in advance, so feel free to email Barbie to find out how long it will take to complete your project. Because we work with many academic clients, the end of semesters (October-December and March-May) are particularly busy times. During these months, we encourage clients to get their projects in as soon as possible to ensure they meet their deadline. The above turnaround times apply to more typical periods.

If you’re in a bind, we offer a rush edit option as well! No matter your timetable, never hesitate to contact us. We work our hardest to complete projects with our clients’ deadlines in mind!

• Elicit (verb): To draw forth or bring out
  Example: The controversial newspaper article elicited a huge response from angry readers.
• Illicit (adjective): Not permitted
  Example: Students who participate in illicit activity will be suspended.

You’ll never get these words confused again!

Thanks to our loyal and growing client base for keeping us busy as we move into summer. Keep those projects coming!

During the spring semester, we  were introduced to formatting guidelines for several new schools. It’s always interesting to see schools’ style guides and formatting guidelines because they often vary greatly. Two ideas jumped out at us as highly beneficial.

First, a dissertation template, created in Word, can be very useful for students who just want to write and don’t want to deal with formatting their document. The dissertation template can include heading styles, page numbers, page/section breaks, and placeholders for frontmatter, thus eliminating the need for the students to create these items. Students can simply add their content to the template, and their document is formatted per the school’s guidelines. There’s always a bit of work on the students’ end, such as establishing heading levels and generating the table of contents, but a Word template can take much of the guesswork out of the thesis/dissertation submission process.

Giving students an example of a formatted, approved thesis or dissertation that aligns with school guidelines is another helpful tool. Students can compare their thesis or dissertation to the example, allowing them to identify and correct any discrepancies before format review. The more resources schools give graduate students, the less confusing the thesis/dissertation submission process will be.

Projects that fall under one of the following categories will be charged a rush edit fee:

• Projects with an expected turnaround time of 24 hours or less.
  Example: A client delivers a 25-page journal article on Wednesday afternoon that is due on Thursday at noon.
• Projects that are delivered and require completion on Saturdays and Sundays.
  Example: A client submits a project on Friday evening and needs to submit it Monday morning.

Due to our increased workload, we cannot guarantee that every project that has a deadline of 24 hours or less or requires weekend work can be completed. However, the rush edit fee allows us to prioritize our workload, putting your project ahead of others in the queue. While you are paying a premium for this service, it is money well spent, as your project will be completed in a timely manner. At Carpenter Doc, we are committed to helping you meet your deadline. Rush edit fees help us achieve that goal.

Fees vary depending on the project. Contact Barbie for more information!