When doing academic writing, it is important to make sure that the sources are reliable.
You can determine if a source is reliable or unreliable by:
- Type of source
- Currency
- Relevance to your topic
- Authors
- Reputation
- Quality of the content
- Strength of the argument
- Type of source
- Currency
- Relevance to your topic
- Authors
- Reputation
- Quality of the content
- Strength of the argument
Type of source
Some types of sources are considered more reliable than others, for example:
- Reliable: academic journals, academic publications
- Potentially reliable: corporate publications, government publications, quality newspapers, specialist magazines
- Unreliable: Wikipedia, mass market publications, marketing materials
Wikipedia is useful to gain background or overview knowledge of a topic. However it is considered unacceptable for university-level research for two reasons:
- The website is freely editable by the public, so the content may change, and may not be accurate
- Using Wikipedia is considered to position your research at a level inadequate for university studies
Currency
“Currency” refers to the date the source was published
- There is no general rule about this, although newer sources tend to be preferable to older sources
- But you should be critical about your sources. This will depend on your topic and your field
- For example, in computer science, sources from the last year or two are preferable, whereas in the history of psychology, it may be appropriate to use sources from the 20th century
Relevance to your topic
“Relevance” means whether a particular source is related to your writing. Ask yourself:
- Is it of major importance or does it just give you background information
- Does it support or contradict your argument?
- Is the data useful?
Authors
How well is the author known in their field?
- You may already have heard of the author or authors
- You may notice a particular name coming up again and again as you search
- You can also look at which institution or university the writer is associated with
Reputation
You need determine if a source is credible. Ask yourself:
- Have I heard of this journal before?
- Has it been recommended to me?
- How many years has it been around?
- Is the publisher well known?
- Is the journal peer reviewed?
Quality of the content
You need to make judgment whether the content of a source is of sufficient quality for you to use. Ask yourself:
- Is the subject matter discussed fully enough?
- Is evidence given to support the points made?
Strength of the argument
You need to judge whether the writer makes a clear argument and supports it. Ask yourself:
- Is the argument logical and well-constructed?
- Are alternate points of view given?
- Is there a clear conclusion?
