I have often thought about what exactly teachers look for in credibility for papers. What makes a source a good source? I chose a paper that I had to write on in a communication class about divorces is in court and we had to make arguments to the opposing group who was against it.
Now looking at the sources, I wanted to find ones that made sense and was a common place was the facts were correct. I have notice plenty times before that people of just go to Google and click on their topic without looking at what website it came from and just put in information that did not look knowledgeable to the topic. So looking at a paper I would actually want to know how much credibility this website actually has, what kind of facts they are trying to prove, and possibly who wrote on this website. In this case, for this paper I would mainly go to the library because these sources are for the most part very credible. I would look what type of credibility the author would have, what type of things the author has won, what other critics have said about this author and go from there.
The type of things I look for in sources would be fact that could help prove my opinion. I would not just want to cite something random that has absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about that would make my paper less credible and the cite that I would be using. If I were to do grade some ones paper were the quotes made no sense, I would think that they source could have not been that good if that was what he was trying to come up with.
In gathering valuable information I would make sure this cite would actually have to do with what I am trying to say in my paper. I want everything to flow in my paper and if I have information that is not valuable then it makes my paper look bad, my sources look bad, and the credibility of my paper would be bad. So valuable information I would look at something that would help prove my reason that would go back to my main topic which would go back to my thesis statement. I would want the information to flow with my paper. Also in looking for valuable information I would want to put things on there that most people did not know about my topic. I feel that valuable information helps if it is something that most people did not even know about your topic it would make the paper that more interesting when reading it. Which leads to engaging the reader, it would be boring if you just put down the basic information about the topic that people are know. In your paper the information is the key because credible sources help improving your paper. For me I think I would do a pretty good job at finding sources.
Cites
- Cornelius, Tracy. “A search model of marriage and divorce.” Review of Economic Dynamics 6.1 (2003): 135-155.
Hein, Holly. “Surprising Facts about Marriage, Affairs & Divorce.” Love Advice for Singles and Couples at iVillage.com. 10 Feb. 2009 <http://love.ivillage.com/lnsproblems/lnscheating/0,,80d8,00.html>.
Stanley, Scott. “Facts About Marital Distress and Divorce.” Smart Marriages. 10 Feb. 2009 <http://www.smartmarriages.com/7.html>.
February 11, 2009 at 5:29 am
I also did a paper on divorce at one time in my acidemic career. I wasn’t too happy with my grade. The instructor didn’t agree with my point of view (he mad that clear from the time I told him what I was writing on).
Anyway, I have also taken a writing class that told me how to find reliable sources. I believe this class should be required.
February 12, 2009 at 2:12 am
I think it is interesting how you mentioned the importance of engaging the reader with interesting information. It seems the more unique the information provided via the internet the more potential it has to be illegitimate. So how does one evaluate where to draw the line between finding unique information without lacking credibility? One thing that seemed to strike me was how our society seems to evaluate credibility based on the education system, an undergraduate having less credibility than Phd but more than an uneducated person. This must be the situation that Postman discussed on page 88, the tension between different systems in society and who may be deemed an expert in those systems. Though I feel able to navigate finding credible sources, it is an interesting thing to consider how that system came to be!
February 13, 2009 at 4:48 am
In your blog you mention a key ingredient to finding legitimate sources. I too stated I would look at the author of the article I am thinking of including in my paper. For one, I want to make sure the person has knowledge in the field they are writing on and I want to know what previous material they have written. In reviewing earlier material I may be able to find critic reviews and see how well the author’s information and opinions are perceived.
I agree the library and networks like Academic Search Premier are beneficial in finding factual, relevant information. Fortunately, in today’s world we are able to use technology to help us in our search for information. The only thing we need to make sure we stay away from is getting too dependent, too addicted to technology seen in Wood and Smith’s section on Internet Addiction Disorders. I bring this up because many of us choose to search for sources via the internet. Very rarely do students go to a library and search for thick books that are full of information. Instead, we choose to use PDF files as a means of viewing books online. Thus, Wood and Smith’s point is proven, “internet addictions are made possible through applications made available through the internet” (i.e. Academic Search Premier) (102).
February 13, 2009 at 6:55 pm
“I would not just want to cite something random that has absolutely nothing to do with what I am talking about”.
I love that you brought this up! When I first began college, I used to proofread/edit papers for a number of people- and I often was left baffled when I would come across a quote that sounded like it came from another paper! There was one particular paper that I remember most clearly- a guy in my Comm class wrote a paper supposedly on how interpersonal communication affects the environment of elementary school students. The paper was scattered with miscellaneous quotes on interpersonal communication ranging from IC in nursing homes to studies performed among college students. Literally scattered. Sometimes they didn’t even merge with a sentence- there, in the midst of a paragraph on how IC environments affects the future communication abilities of the students, was a quote referring to high school speech clubs. It was even it’s own sentence. I remember he said, “She won’t even notice it, she’ll see a citation and check me off”. Needless to say, he received a fairly poor grade.
So, I greatly appreciate your opinion that a source should be well analyzed to ensure appropriate relatedness, and credibility of the author of the source themselves!
February 14, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Hey Josh, you bring up an excellent point concerning credibility. If an individual uses a source that does not stand up to the critical eye, it will not just be the source that will catch flak, but the person who used it as well. This is a valuable lesson in the modern technological world. Although information is easy to accumulate on almost any topic imaginable, there are consequences to an indiscretionary application of ideas, studies, statistics, etc. We must raise the bar in terms of credibility to ensure our personal reputation remains valid.