Skip to main content

Sources: Are they credible?

Last week, I attended a presentation in the library that highlighted what makes a source credible, and where to find them. In today's day and age, there are thousands of articles on various sites, and it can be difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.  Considering I will need several credible sources for my research essay, this presentation was beneficial to my writing outline and my overall understanding of sourcing information. 

When analyzing a source, it's very important to take into consideration possible bias. For example, bias is very prevalent in the news media. Understanding that bias has the power to portray information in a way that can deceive must be noted. Adding on, when looking for credible information, citing a study can be more effective to your argument, ensuring that you can identify possible bias, and the study's relevance to your topic. Studies that are over 10 years old should be reexamined as it could potentially be outdated. Also, being able to differentiate a site based on the end of their URL is vital. A ".gov" site comes from the US government, whereas a ".edu" site comes from an educational institution. This shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to researching. If I ever need a source that's not available from the North Central Library (Research | North Central College), I am able to request additional sources, which is a cool feature. 

Once I acquire a good, reliable source I want to include in my research, the final step I need to do is cite it. Luckily, I was provided with a "cheat sheet" for citing sources in MLA, APA, or Chicago style format which is attached below. I hope that my enhanced understanding of research methods will strengthen my writing skills. 




Comments

  1. Andy PhamNovember 13, 2022 at 8:17 PM

    It was quite nice that we got to spend the entire class period on creditable sources. We didn't really had to focus on the rational argument and I got something out of the presentation. I knew the majority of the stuff said but learned about the library resources that NCC offered.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Don't Hate on Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving truly is one of the greatest holidays, and I honestly don't care what anyone else says. But since I'm writing this, obviously I do. Far too many people dump on Thanksgiving for whatever reasons they have ("the food is gross") but many times when pressed on why they dislike it, they struggle to come up with an answer. Keep in mind these are largely the same people who consider you immoral if you utter anything negative about Halloween, which is overrated by the way. Thanksgiving is unique and happens once a year, so let's all just enjoy it. I will concede and admit I understand the perspective that the food isn't the greatest (I still disagree) since I'm a picky eater, but we really only have an excuse to stuff our faces with turkey, potatoes, mac n cheese, ham, and desserts once a year. Can you think of another holiday when it's acceptable to consume that much food? No! And if you don't like the food and it's an issue, by all mean...
1 comment
Read more

Doc Project

Whether I watch a movie, TV show, or documentary, I never really paid close attention to the cinematic elements that make up a film. After sitting down and digesting my documentary of choice for this project,  Cartel Land,  I found that devices such as sound or music greatly contribute to making a film enjoyable to watch that keeps you thinking afterwards.           I went back and rewatched a couple scenes from Cartel Land for analytical purposes with a strong focus on the filmmaker's choices of music. There were two scenes in particular in which music played an instrumental role in forming how the audience should view certain people. One scene used upbeat, triumphant music while Dr. Morales, the leader of the Autodefensas (armed citizenry) gave a speech in a town square in front of the local people. Without music during this scene, the audience would likely have had to come up with their own interpretation of Morales' character. Similarly, when ...
1 comment
Read more

Cartel Land

       For this project, I decided to watch Cartel Land directed by Matthew Heineman, which covers different vigilante groups fighting in Mexico and along the border as a violent drug war rages on in Mexico. One particular scene that shook me to the core was when a young woman started sobbing listing 13 names, ages ranging from 40 to 6 months, as men dug a mass grave. The names she was listing were members of her family who worked at a lime farm. The owner of the lime farm had been doing business with the cartel, and when the owner did not have his payment on time, the cartel brutally killed his workers as revenge. As people scream and sob in the background, the woman described how the infants were smashed into rocks by the legs and then tossed into a well like trash. Others were cut into pieces and beheaded. I almost had to mute the TV as she was describing the slaughtering. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing. That's all I could say.     ...
2 comments
Read more