Earlier in the course you compared sources and noted why you trusted them. Today you put that comparison into a spreadsheet, so you can sort it, filter it and answer a question about the whole set at once.

You will:

1. set up the columns;
2. enter your sources, one per row;
3. freeze the header row so it stays put as you scroll;
4. sort and filter to answer a question about the set.

In a spreadsheet, each row is one source and each column is one fact about it. Sorting and filtering beat rewriting a long list once you have more than a few sources.

You score the four tests yourself with Yes, No or Partial:

Follow the guided steps on screen to build a source-comparison spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets. Use the three sample sources below if you do not have your own from earlier work. Freeze and filter are the two skills you must hit; if time is short, skip widening columns. Save the file the class way when you finish the walkthrough.

Sample sources (topic: should secondary schools start later in the morning?). Type the short labels in the Source column so data entry stays quick:

1. Sleep study. Full title: Teen Sleep and School Start Times. Author: Dr A. Byrne on a Health Board summary page. Date: 2024-03-12. Score all four tests Yes.
2. Forum post. Full title: Late Starts Ruin Everything. Author: anonymous forum post. Date: 2019-11-02. Score all four tests No.
3. Parent survey. Full title: Parent Survey on Bell Times. Author: Greenfield Parents Association. Date: 2023-09-18. Score Purpose clear and Current as Yes; score Accurate and Cross-checked as Partial.

You need a school Microsoft account (Excel) or Google account (Sheets). Both are free through school.

Grow the table by at least one row and use a filter to answer a real question about the set.

• Add at least one more source row (two if you finish early) from earlier comparison work or your research log. The log may only give you a title and a trust note, so re-score Author, Date and the four tests into the grid yourself using Yes, No or Partial.
• If you have no earlier sources, invent one plausible row on the same school-start topic and score it honestly with Yes, No or Partial. Optional starter titles you can type if you need them: (4) Irish Times opinion on school start times, Author: newspaper columnist, Date: 2022-01-15; (5) HSE teen sleep leaflet, Author: HSE, Date: 2021-06-01; (6) Student council blog post, Author: school council, Date: 2024-02-20. Score the four tests yourself.
• Turn a filter on and answer one question about the whole set, for example: which sources fail Current?, or which ones pass every test?
• Write your question and the one-line answer under the table or in a cell to the side, then save the file the class way.

Before you finish, check: at least four source rows; headers frozen; one filter used on purpose; one clear question-and-answer beside the table; file saved where the class can find it next time.

What the table gives you:

• Sort by date — see at a glance what is current and what is old.
• Filter by scores — hide the ones that passed and look at what did not.
• Spot patterns across sources — things a long list hides.

What did your table show you that was hard to see in your research log?