Introduction
Are you done with the general coursework of your degree and now looking
forward to doing your thesis? If this is the case with you, then you must know
that writing a thesis requires a bunch of skills. Those skills include
researching and writing skills. Students really lack research skills as they do
not know what credible sources for research are. Most of the students use these
resources, which include the best
dissertation writing services, guides, and samples available on different
platforms. Online sources are not always credible, but you can use them in some
cases. Today’s topic is about some online resources that you can use in your
research. It will discuss how you can check the authenticity and other things
of those sources along with their description. So, let’s start our today’s
discussion with the following question.
Are online sources for research credible?
Every online source is not credible because sometimes there can be
biased information on the internet. There are some websites that are only
working on one agenda. So, their sole motive is to post content about that
agenda, and you can’t use their content. However, there are also many sources
that post only credible content, like Research gate and ScienceDirect. So, you
can say that it is not sure if a source is credible or not unless you check it
using some test.
How to check the credibility of online
sources?
Checking the credibility of a source is one giant step that you will
take in searching for research sources. You can use a test called CRAAP to
check the credibility. The CRAAP test is explained below:
·
Currency: Is the information
on the online page up to date? When was it last updated?
·
Relevance: Is the online
source that you are using relevant to your topic?
·
Authority: Who is the author
of the source? Is he credible enough or not?
·
Accuracy: Are the proofs of
arguments in the source?
·
Purpose: Is the source
fulfilling its purpose?
What are the online sources for research?
After reading the information above, you know what the sources for
research are. You also know how you can identify credible sources based on the CRAAP
test. Now, let’s discuss some of the best online credible sources. Hence, a
brief description of those sources is as follows:
Google Scholar
The creation of Google Scholar took the academicians by storm in the
early days of its launch. They can share their knowledge and provide help to
other academic researchers. Now, it is the most credible online source from
which students can download research articles, theses, and books. Students can
download any document related to their topic.
Credible databases
Many databases are available on the internet that provides credible
research information free of cost. You can explore those databases, like Researchgate,
ScienceDirect, and Jstor, to read information related to your topic. The
information available on these online sources for research is credible and
authentic.
Microsoft Academia
This database is created by a company that has brought you MS Word, Excel,
Powerpoint, etc. It is a reliable and comprehensive online research tool. This
online source attracts academic content from one hundred publishers. The
current number of research articles and other academic writings on this is
about 120 million.
Conclusion
Finding credible sources online is not a difficult task if you know how to check them. The CRAAP test can really help you a lot in this. On the other hand, there are many other credible sources except the ones mentioned above. Go and search on the internet about those sources for research.