Why we need reliable resources for studies?
Finding reliable
sources is most important in acquiring information on academic matters,
especially when it comes to acquiring facts, perspective, or clarification of
facts. At present, finding a reliable source is more challenging than before.
If someone wants to find credible sources, the most effective technique is to
be doubtful.
To
obtain real facts on an academic matters, it is important to find sources that
are unbiased on issues. Reliable sources are written to teach or inform a
reader. To find such sources, several steps can be used. First, check the
author’s credentials and affiliations. Author’s experience and his expertise
knowledge to write about the subject matter are important. Should check whether
the author cites additional sources in his article/paper. The source must be
created by a reputable publisher, and most importantly, should check if the
source is up to date. Lastly, examine if there are any endorsements or reviews
of the actual source. Above all facts should be used by students, when finding reliable
sources. However it’s best to search for scholarly articles or sections written
by educational organizations for details and valued information.
How
to find whether we are using an unreliable resource:
1. * Have
a ~ in URL, out of date, not frequently updated or purpose is to sell something.
2. * Not
list contact information and resources
3. * Find
lot of questions after read it
4. * Have
a lot of broken links or old information
5. * Author
seems to be full of biases and is only giving opinions rather than facts
6. * Author’s
background does not match with the topic and he does not shows evidence of
being knowledgeable, reliable, and truthful
7. * Bad
grammar or misspelled words
8. * Numbers
or statistics that are presented without an identified source
What are the basics of using
textbooks?
Academic
books, such as textbooks, written by experts in the relevant field are
considered reliable sources. Such books go through a quality process under publishers
where editors manage the publication of the book and give
recommendations.
Though the textbooks are excellent sources of information, they are not always reliable. Because the content in book could be out of date as the long turn around between submission and publication. Books are rarely peer-reviewed and will be edited, but the editors are not always specialists in the relevant subject.
What are the basics of using peer-reviewed
journal articles?
Peer-reviewed journal articles are always considered as the most reliable sources. Peer-review is a quality process that articles in scholarly journals must undertake. Editors and publishers of scholarly journals look for experts/ peer-reviewers, to read through and assess the article. Peer-reviewers are qualified and well experienced experts in the same field as the author. Peer-reviewers submit comments that the author must obey to have his or her article published in that specific journal. Usually, more than one peer-reviewer evaluates each article. Peer-reviewers never get financial support for this.
What are the basics of using internet?
Internet based websites are not peer-reviewed sources and not all of them consider as reliable sources. Websites hosted by public
institutions however, in most instances qualify as reliable sources. internet has possibility to giving faulty or biased information as anyone can write and post anything.
The following criteria can be used to assess the
reliability of websites as sources:
* Reliable party
Who is the author of the material? Can the author be contacted? Does the author has knowledge in this particular field. Has the author written more on the material? Google the author, search for his or her name in library systems.
* Who publishes the web page, that is, who hosts the web page?
Is it a reliable party?
Look at the first part of the URL.
* Also check the endings of the address whether it ends,
.gov (governmental entity)
.edu (educational institution)
.org (organisation)
.com (commercial entity – business and/or services)
* Unbiased discussion
What is the purpose of the website? Is it to marketing, educate, for opinions, publish facts, news? How detailed is the information presented? Is the discussion one-sided.
* Information that has to consider
When was the website created? last updated? Are the links active?
Sometimes journal articles on the internet which we can find using Google or Google Scholar may not be peer-reviewed. Try to find out in what journal the article in question has appeared. Examine the website of the journal, paying most attention to “Submission guidelines” or “Information for authors” where it is specified what quality process articles published in that particular journal must undertake.
A source is credible when it is trustworthy. Sometimes it is
not easy to determine whether a source is credible or not. Presenting false
information without any credentials or proof can be done by anyone, especially
online. Sources can often appear as credible even when they are not. Therefore
we have to use appropriate methods to find credible sources for the purpose of
learning.
References
Communication and Study skills for Psychology, Faculty of Health Science, Department of Psychology and counseling, Open University of Sri Lanka
Parson, V. (2012). Study and Communication Skills for Psychology
How Do You Check the Reliability of Sources of Information? (n.d.). Https://Sure.Nlb.Gov.Sg/. https://sure.nlb.gov.sg/tng/surevivors-activity4/
K. (2012, November 5). Finding reliable sources. Slideshare. https://www.slideshare.net/kivers1/finding-reliable-sources
