Chapter 1
Text Types, Purposes, and Production
Course: Core Academic Skills For Educators Combined Test 5752
Subject: Core Academic Skills Educators Writing 5723
Chapter: Language And Research Skills
Recognize and apply appropriate research skills and strategies
a. Assess the credibility and relevance of sources
When conducting research, credibility and relevance are the two pillars of evaluating whether a source should be included. A source may be credible but not relevant, or relevant but not credible. Strong academic writing requires both.
Credibility
A credible source is one that can be trusted to provide accurate, unbiased, and verifiable information. Several factors determine credibility:
- Author’s qualifications: Is the author an expert in the field? For example, a climate scientist writing about climate change is more credible than a journalist with no scientific background.
- Publisher or organization: University presses, government agencies, and peer-reviewed journals are generally more credible than personal websites or commercial blogs.
- Evidence and citations: A credible source references data, studies, or other reputable works rather than making unsupported claims.
- Peer review: Academic articles that undergo peer review are considered highly credible because they have been evaluated by experts before publication.
- Currency: Information must be up to date. While a 1950s history book on World War II may still be credible, a 2005 medical article on cancer treatments may be outdated because of advances in research.