Steps to Take
There are four steps you can follow to determine the quality of a source:
- Procedural: Do you give the source time to provide context?
- Degree: Do you use a third-party verification service?
- Syntactic: Are the source’s arguments logically connected?
- Content: Do you have confidence in the information presented?
If you are writing for print, you should follow the APA guidelines for writing scholarly articles, which state that references should be included in the text and cited in the reference section at the end of the article. When writing for a digital audience or for TV, you can use this outline as a basis for your own effective analysis.
Procedural Considerations
In a research paper, you should observe how the source presents itself and whether it’s appropriate for your level of academia. If you are new to this, look at how others in your field conduct research and how their papers are structured. Also, see if there are any specific journals or publications the source is featured in. You can do this by checking the author’s name at the end of the paper to see if this is a reputable source or if the source is a student’s paper.
This step is about how the source is constructed and whether you can judge its credibility. You should pay special attention to whether the source is peer-reviewed and whether this review is meaningful. The review should offer the reader something new and make them interested in reading the paper. A meaningless ‘positive’ review might leave you wondering if the journal is trying to trick you into publishing their paper. You can find out more about these issues by looking at the source’s abstract, keywords, and methodology.
Degree Considerations
When you are applying for a new job or school, admissions committees will want to know how well you’ll do in the field. One way they’ll do this is by looking at your previous work. To have the maximum impact, your previous work should be of a high degree of difficulty and should demonstrate your exceptional writing ability. You should take this into account when choosing your own sources because the task will pull you away from using simple language and it will encourage you to use more complex words and phrases. This will assist you in expressing yourself more accurately and with greater depth. You can find out more about the quality of a source by looking at how other scholars in your field have appraised it. In some cases, the source might be controversial or its findings surprising. You can also ask experts in your field to critique the work for you and add additional weight to your evaluation.
Syntactic Considerations
This step is all about whether the author’s words make sense in the context that they’re used in. You might want to give this paper a quick once-over before you begin writing your analysis. First, look at the paper’s introduction to get an idea of its scope. Next, skim the text to see if it makes sense and if the author uses simple language easily understandable by most people. If you find that the paper uses words and phrases that you’re not familiar with, there’s a good chance that you’ll struggle to keep up. One mistake you might make is to simply look up the word or phrase in a dictionary. You should instead look for a thesaurus or a word list online to find synonyms or related words. Using a thesaurus makes it easy to look up the right word or phrase for a particular context, and you’ll ensure that your analysis makes sense by using the correct language. This step is all about making sure that the author’s words are easy to follow and that they do what they mean to do in the context that they’re used in. Remember: English isn’t my first language, so I might not express myself perfectly in this format, but I’ve tried my best to make sure that you can follow my train of thought.
Content Considerations
This step is all about whether you have confidence in the information presented in the source. In some cases, you might want to analyze a source’s historical significance, but for most cases, you can trust what you read. However, if you find that the source is not credible, it doesn’t matter what you think you know about the subject matter – you should question everything. In an ideal scenario, you would have confidence in the source, but you should look for additional evidence to support what you read. If you find that the source does not present sufficient evidence to justify its claims, it might be a smart move to look for a more reputable source. Remember: the purpose of this step is to ensure that you have confidence in the source’s findings. If you don’t have confidence in what you’re reading, it doesn’t matter how much you know about the subject matter – you won’t be able to write an effective analysis.
If you’re unsure of how to check the quality of a source, don’t worry – this article will tell you everything you need to know. Follow the four steps discussed above to determine the quality of any source. If you need additional help, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Transparent Investing or to one of our expert analysts at Humble Wealth. We’re here to help you sort through the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to your investments – and we want to make sure you’re making the right choices for you or your family!