Steps that you should take to determine the credibility of a print source

Describe the steps that you should take to determine the credibility of a print source.

The credibility of a print source defines the quality of the scholarly articles and essays. The more credible the print source, the more the written product is considered to be quality. Unfortunately, we do have writers who use simplistic ways to produce writings which do not utilize credible sources. These kinds of writings are not helping the research community at all and may be misleading.

When we read books, we see abundance of references made to other scholarly articles and papers. But this is not always the case, there are many times books and papers that do not have credible references but only hollow claims that cannot be verified. Therefore, considerable steps need to be taken to ensure the credibility of a print source.

The main function of academic source is to advise and not to excite the readers by calling their inner believes and conforming to them. Credible sources consist of writings by specialist by different experts in different fields. These sources are not just mere pieces of writing that do not have any scientific grounds. Therefore, to verify the credibility of a print source, it is better to verify who the writer is. Is the writer a specialist in the field he/she is writing in or is the print source just a collection of opinions by a non-professional in the specific filed of research. So if you are viewing a print source in the field of English research but the writer is from Biology background, the source may not be termed as credible.

Some writers may publish independently without a partnership with a publisher. This could point to the fact that the writer was not able to convince any publisher about the quality of the content of his/her work and no publisher agreed to print it. Therefore, the thoughts expressed in the writing may not have a profound weight and the source can be categorized as not credible.

The distributors of a print source also tell a lot about its credibility. Credible distributors would try their best to avoid distribution of print material that is not credible. They would not spend their financial resource on the distribution of print sources that could blow back at them due to its credibility. Therefore, it is pertinent to look at the distributor of the print source. If it is a reputed distributor, the print source may be credible. But if the distributor is not credible, the credibility of the print source may be in doubt.

Some print sources can be categorized non-credible if they are not accredited by the concerned associations. For example if you are reading a source related to psychology and it is not accredited by credible association of psychology, this source can be categorized as non-credible. Writers may publish with accreditation by associations that are fake and may not even have a real existence, therefore, a reader must be able to differentiate between credible and fake accreditation associations as well.

Usually when a print source is seen in the shelves of a library, it is straight away considered as credible. Research has indicated that there is a possibility that some of the print sources available in the libraries of universities may not be credible (Bradford, 2005). Therefore, it is important to not conclude straightway that the print material available in the university library is of the highest credibility. Universities are undoubtedly credible place for learning with professionals teaching who might be a part of the selection process to buy books for the university library but there are many non-credible publishers always sending their publications to university libraries. The university librarian may not be an expert in finding out the credibility of the print source or may use simplistic thinking and place these non-credible print sources in the library shelves.

Print sources that have dubious conclusion, using words like “great results” or “right or wrong” need to be examined thoroughly as these are extremely opinionated words.

How do the steps that you take to determine the validity and credibility of an online source differ from the steps you take for print sources? Give specific examples by comparing and contrasting sources you have encountered in your research. Your response should be 2-3 paragraphs.

Internet consists of abundance of information. In today’s world, I think it is safe to say that internet has made it possible to access information more easily than in print form. In print form, information may not be accessed easily but on internet information is readily available right away with search keywords on search engines like Google and Yahoo.

In print form, a source might seem to be from a well know publisher and distributed by a reputable distributor. But in reality, this set of information may be forged. But in the form of online sources, it cannot be forged easily because the verification process is simple in comparison to print sources. You can simply go to the website of the publisher and distributor and verify if the source is published and distributed by them or not.

In the online world, it is easy to verify the status of the writer and editor as the information can be searched and verifies within less time and less effort. On the other hand, in the case of print sources, it may be hectic to verify the editors and writers.