what makes research paper credible

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Check Your Sources: A Checklist for Validating Academic Information

A virtual flood of information is available with just a few clicks, but it is important to remember that abundance does not mean quality. There are plenty of inaccurate articles and misinformation online, making it crucial to fully understand how to discern the credibility of sources. Although the ability to validate information is always important, it is especially vital for students as they pursue information for academic research and papers.

This article provides a comprehensive checklist that can help you weed out bad information and find reliable and accurate sources for your academic writing and research endeavors.

Why Credibility Matters in Academic Research

It is easy to understand why credibility matters; after all, it is the cornerstone of academic research. The implications of being credible, however, extend beyond grades and academia.

Reliable sources lend weight to arguments, ensuring they stand up to scrutiny. Conversely, unreliable sources can introduce errors into a field of study, leading to flawed conclusions. This type of situation can affect the integrity of the broader knowledge base and adversely affect the researcher's reputation.

A Checklist for Validating Academic Information

As information continues to proliferate, the ability to distinguish credible from questionable becomes increasingly important. This checklist offers a structured approach to ensure your research is grounded in authoritative and relevant sources, bolstering the integrity of your work.

1. Identify Who Provided the Information

The credibility of information often hinges on the expertise and reputation of its provider.

Author credentials: A source's reliability often heavily relies on the expertise of its author. When looking at sources, check the author’s academic background and look for additional publications credited to them.

Institutional affiliation: Reputable institutions typically adhere to rigorous publication standards. If a source comes from a recognized university or research body, it's likely undergone thorough review. This is not foolproof, but it serves as a green flag for the reliability of the source.

Peer review: In academia, peer review is the gold standard. It means other experts in the field have examined and approved the content. You can usually find this information in the editorial guidelines for the journal or website that published the content.

2. Acknowledge Any Potential Bias

Every piece of information carries a perspective, so it is crucial to discern its objectivity before using it as a source.

Objective vs. subjective: While no source is entirely free from bias, it is vital to distinguish between objective research and opinion pieces. The former is based on empirical evidence, while the latter reflects personal viewpoints.

Funding sources: Research funded by organizations with vested interests might be skewed. Always check the acknowledgments or disclosure section.

Affiliations: Authors affiliated with certain groups might have inherent biases. It does not invalidate their work, but you should be aware of it so you can determine if the information is credible or overly biased.

3. Identify Claims Made Without Proper Data

Valid academic claims are rooted in evidence, making it essential to scrutinize the data backing them.

Evidence-based claims: In academic research, claims should be backed by data. If a source makes broad assertions without evidence, approach it with caution.

Transparent methodology: A credible source will detail its methodology, allowing others to replicate the study or understand its basis.

Unsupported statements: Be wary of sweeping claims that do not reference other studies or data. This is a red flag that indicates the information may not be credible.

4. Check the Purpose of the Information

Understanding the intent behind a source helps in assessing its relevance and potential bias.

Informative vs. persuasive: Is the source aiming to inform based on evidence, or is it trying to persuade? Both can be valid, but it is essential to know the difference and decide if the information is usable on a case-by-case basis.

Primary vs. secondary sources: Primary sources offer direct evidence or firsthand testimony. Secondary sources analyze or interpret primary sources. While both types of sources can be credible, you should still understand and distinguish between them.

Audience and conflicts: Consider who the intended audience is because this can shape the type of information being shared. A paper written for industry professionals might have a different tone and depth than one written for general readers.

5. Check Publication Dates

The age of a source can influence its relevance and applicability to current research in several key ways.

Relevance and recency: In quickly evolving fields, recent publications are crucial, as they reflect the latest findings and consensus. However, this does not mean older sources are obsolete. They can offer foundational knowledge or a historical perspective. It is just important to be aware of the dates associated with all information you plan on using.

Historical context: When citing older sources, it is essential to understand their context. How has the field evolved since then? Are the findings still relevant and accurate, or has newer research superseded them?

Topic evolution: Using older sources can provide unique insight. Tracking the progression of thought on a subject can provide depth to your research, showing how current perspectives were shaped.

6. Assess the Source's Reputation

A source's standing in the academic community can be a strong indicator of its reliability.

Citations: If a source is frequently cited in other works, it is a positive indication — but not a fool-proof test. The reputation and authority of where the citation occurs can also reflect on its credibility.

Retractions/corrections: Check if the source has any associated retractions or corrections. This might indicate issues with the content but may also indicate dedication to sharing accurate information.

7. Verify Citations and References

Reliable academic work builds upon previous research, making citations a key component of credibility.

Backed claims: Ensure that the source's claims are supported by credible references. These should be easy to find, easy to access, and not outdated.

Authenticity of citations: Check the original studies or data cited to ensure they have been represented accurately. You should never rely on a source’s representation of facts but rather check them against the originating source.

Self-citation: While authors will sometimes cite their previous work, excessive self-citation can be a red flag.

Additional Tips on How to Know if a Source Is Credible

Consult experts: If you are unsure about a source, reach out to experts or professors in the field. Their experience can provide insights into the source's reliability.

Check for comprehensive coverage: Reliable sources often cover topics in depth, addressing multiple facets of an issue rather than presenting a one-sided view.

Examine the writing style: Credible sources typically maintain a professional tone, avoiding sensationalism or overly emotional language. Spelling and grammar errors are a red flag.

Look for transparency: Trustworthy sources are transparent about their research methods, data collection, and any potential conflicts of interest.

In academic writing, the strength of your work is deeply rooted in the credibility of your sources. By carefully evaluating your sources, you can ensure that you're presenting accurate information that stands up to scrutiny. This process starts with systematically validating the information you find for bias, outdated information, unsupported claims, and many other criteria. In the end, however, it is your discernment that keeps unscrupulous information from ending up in your research. 

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Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

The Ultimate Student Guide To Finding Credible Sources

Updated: January 24, 2023

Published: January 1, 2020

When it comes to writing a research paper, it’s crucial that you use credible sources to make sure that the information you are stating is actually true. Knowing the difference between credible sources and unreliable sources doesn’t always come so easily with endless information flooding the internet. Thankfully, there are some simple tips that you can use to ensure that you are always using credible sources for research.

What is a Research Paper?

A research paper is a piece of academic writing that uses original research on a specific topic. There are many different types of research papers, ranging from a high school term paper to a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation.

Photo by  Wallace Chuck  from  Pexels

How to start a search for sources, 1. start simple.

If you’re wondering how to find sources for a research paper, the easiest and best way to start is simple! Just try browsing through some common search engines to see what you find.

2. Cross Wikipedia off

Wikipedia, although it’s a massive pool of information, should always be avoided when writing a research paper since it allows the public to edit information. Sites such as these often run the risk of lacking accuracy, and is not one of the most credible sources for research.

3. Yes to scholarly databases

Scholarly databases are your best friend when it comes to finding credible sources for research. Online scholarly databases that can be trusted and are known to provide useful information for students include LexisNexis and EBSCO.

4. Newspapers and magazines

Although sometimes biased, newspapers and magazines can also be a great place to find information about current events.

5. The library

While the library seems to be the most obvious place to find information, somehow it’s often forgotten when it comes to research in the modern age. Don’t forget how useful it can truly be!

Types of Credible Sources for Research

1. what are some credible websites.

Many online sources do not necessarily contain information that is correct or has been checked. That’s why it’s of utmost importance to make sure that you’re using the right websites for your research, with government and educational websites generally being the most reliable.

Credible sources for research include: science.gov, The World Factbook, US Census Bureau, UK Statistics, and Encyclopedia Britannica.

2. What are some credible journal articles?

When it comes to journal articles, determining how credible they are comes much easier than other sources. This is generally due to the fact that many of these websites will include valuable information such as how many times the article has been cited, and if its been peer reviewed.

Some great examples of reliable websites for journal articles include Google Scholar, Oxford Academic, Microsoft Academic, Cornell University Library, and SAGE Publishing.

If you are ever not sure how to find credible sources, then there’s the CRAAP test, which takes into account the Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose of the article. Take all of these factors into consideration before using a source and determining whether or not it’s credible enough. Even if it takes more time, you’ll be saving yourself tons of time in the long run by not using unreliable sources.

Photo by  Canva Studio  from  Pexels

3. what are some credible news sources.

When it comes to news articles, more caution must be taken since it’s hard to know which sources are truly reliable and unbiased. The CRAAP test is also useful in this type of article for research.

A few examples of credible news sources include The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post.

The Credibility of a Source

As you search for your research information, you will surely come across the question of how to find credible sources for a research paper. Here are some criteria to focus on to ensure that you only use the most credible of sources.

1. What’s the depth of it?

Always look at the depth of an article, not just the written content. See how long the article is, and if it contains the necessary information such as an abstract, a reference list, and documented data.

2. Who is reading it?

When judging the credibility of an article, it’s important to always ask yourself who the target audience of the article is. Sometimes, sources have a specific goal in mind and it can create certain biases.

3. What’s the goal?

Just as you should do with the audience, also ask yourself what the article is trying to achieve. What is their ultimate goal and how are they persuading you of that?

4. Who wrote it?

Always ask yourself who wrote the article and how reputable they are in the specific field. Look at what other published works they have as well.

5. Can it be trusted?

Overall, it’s key to ask yourself how reputable the source is. What kind of website is it published on? Look at the big picture.

6. Is it relevant to now?

Look at the date of the article, or about the specific things they are mentioning in the article. If it’s from a few years ago, it’s probably not too relevant to your current research.

7. Can it be proven?

While an article may sound incredibly convincing, many people have a way with words and persuasion. Stop and ask yourself whether or not what they are claiming can actually be proven.

Photo by  bruce mars  from  Pexels

How to evaluate source credibility.

By using unreliable sources in your research, it can discredit your status, which is why it’s incredibly important to make sure that any information you are using is up-to-date and accurate.

Here’s how to find credible sources.

1. What is a credible source?

Generally, materials that have been published within the past 10 years are considered to be credible sources for research. Another important factor to consider is the author — if they are well known and respected in their specific fields, that’s also generally a sign that the article is credible. Educational and government-run websites (.gov, .edu) tend to also be a safe source to use, as well as academic databases. Google Scholar is also a no-fail source for reliable information.

2. What is a potentially unreliable source?

Anything that is out of date, meaning it’s been published more than 10 years ago should be avoided. Materials published on social media platforms such as Facebook or personal blogs don’t tend to be the most credible. Always make sure that an article contains proper citations and that the website you are using ends in .com or .org.

Free Resources For Learning

There are many free resources for research available known as open educational resources . They are licensed for free use, with the intention of teaching. They can be determined as credible sources for research if they have a Creative Common license, and if the author has proven to be an expert in their field. Always make sure that the content you are using contains no biases.

Sites For Scholarly Research

When performing scholarly research, it’s extra important to make sure that your sources are credible. Government-run research is considered credible, but beware of any political sites. University and educational websites also tend to be reliable, but still take everything you read with a grain of salt. Company websites also tend to be reliable, although their ultimate goal is usually to promote a product. Organizations which are .org websites can be professional and reliable, however, sometimes they also have their own interests.

Which Sites Can Be Relied On

The internet has no shortage of information out there. That’s why you’ll need these handy tips to determine which to use, and how to distinguish through the vast choices without feeling overwhelmed.

List of Credible Research Sources to Consider

1. government entities.

These websites tend to be reliable since they are highly regulated. Examples include the CIA World Factbook and the United States Justice Statistics.

2. Research Think Tanks

Examples of reliable research think tanks include Rand Corporation, Pew Research Center and The Milken Institute.

3. Academic Libraries and Databases

ProQuest, Scopus, and Jstor are great examples of academic libraries and databases that can be trusted.

4. Professional Standards Organizations

The American Bar Association and The American Psychological Association (APA) are highly credible sources when it comes to professional standards.

How to Write a Research Paper: Step-by-Step

Now that you’re an expert on finding credible sources for research, you’re ready to go! But how do you even start to write a research paper? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

For starters, it’s important to get clear instructions from your professor on what they want. The next step is to start brainstorming ideas for a topic of research. Once you’ve decided and feel confident about it, you’re ready to create your outline and plan out the goal of your research paper.

Befriend your librarian and start to search for quality and credible sources through a variety of means. Make sure you understand your topic from top to bottom before you start writing.  As you write, be sure to always keep things factual, and that you finalize your thesis statement throughout your paper — not just at the end. That’s what’s going to guide your writing. Be sure to always keep format in mind, never forget to cite your sources, and to never skip those edits and final checks.

Now you are ready to write a high-quality, fact-driven research paper that’s sure to impress your professors.

Related Articles

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Evaluating Sources

• What Makes a Credible Source?

You may have heard in your courses that you need to use credible sources for your assignments, but how do you know if a source is credible for not?

There are many factors for what makes a source credible. The most important factors to keep in mind is to find sources that are factual and appropriate for a college-level paper.

A factual  source is one that includes information that is based on research and other evidence.

An appropriate source is one that would be acceptable to use for a college-level paper. 

Always Keep Your Thesis Statement in Mind

You spend the entirety of your research paper proving your thesis statement. All of your sources should help strengthen your argument and prove your thesis. Don't just choose sources for the sake of choosing sources.

For more information about creating a thesis statement, check out the Library's Choosing a Research Topic guide .

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• Scholarly Sources vs. Popular Sources
• Evaluation Criteria
• Domain Endings
• Evaluating Sources with Lateral Reading
• Evaluating Websites Exercises
• Helpful Resources

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• Last Updated: May 8, 2024 9:31 AM
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FAQ: How do I know if my sources are credible/reliable?

UW Libraries has a whole guide, Savvy Info Consumers: Evaluating Information , which discusses different types of sources and how to approach evaluating their credibility/reliability.

What it means for a source to be credible/reliable can vary depending on the context of its use. Generally, a credible or reliable source is one that experts in your subject domain would agree is valid for your purposes. This can vary, so it is best to use one of the source evaluation methods that best fits your needs. Do remember that credibility is contextual!

It is important to critically evaluate sources because using credible/reliable sources makes you a more informed writer. Think about unreliable sources as pollutants to your credibility, if you include unreliable sources in your work, your work could lose credibility as a result.

There are certain frameworks that information professionals have put together to help people think critically about the information provided. 

Some of the methods that UW Libraries suggest are: 

5 W Questions (5Ws) : This method means thinking critically about each of your sources by answering five questions to determine if the source is credible/reliable. The acceptable answers to these questions will vary depending on your needs. The questions are:

• Who is the author? (Authority)
• What is the purpose of the content? (Accuracy)
• Where is the content from? (Publisher)
• Why does the source exist? (Purpose and Objectivity)
• How does this source compare to others? (Determining What’s What)

SMART Check : This method is particularly good at evaluating newspaper sources. Like the 5Ws method it also involves answering critical questions about your source. The criteria are:

• Source: Who or what is the source?
• Motive: Why do they say what they do?
• Authority: Who wrote the story?
• Review: Is there anything included that jumps out as potentially untrue?
• Two-Source Test: How does it compare to another source?

CRAAP Test : This method provides you with a set of criteria that make a source more or less credible. The criteria are:

• Currency: Timeliness of the information
• Relevance: Importance of the information for your needs
• Authority: Source of the information
• Accuracy: Truthfulness and correctness of the information
• Purpose: Reason the information exists

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Is My Source Credible?

Ai literacy, more information on ai, web domains in scholarly research, truth in the news, oers (open educational resources).

The definition of a credible source can change depending on the discipline, but in general, for academic writing, a credible source is one that is unbiased and is backed up with evidence. When writing a research paper, always use and cite credible sources. Use this checklist to determine if an article is credible or not:

• Is the source in-depth  (more than a page or two), with an abstract, a reference list, and documented research or data?
• Who is the audience  (researchers, professors, students, general population, professionals in a specific field)?
• What is the purpose of the source  (provide information or report original research or experiments, to entertain or persuade the general public, or provide news or information specific to a trade or industry)?
• Who are the authors?  Are they respected and well-known in the field? Are they easily identifiable? Have they written about other similar topics? What are their credentials?
• Is the source reputable?  Is it published on a reputable, non-biased website, or in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal, and not from a newspaper, blog, or wiki?
• Is the source current for your topic?
• Is there supporting documentation  (graphs, charts, illustrations or other supporting documentation)?

Below are guidelines and tips for becoming "AI literate" --that is, gaining skills that enable you to use AI effectively, ethically, safely, and in a way that supports your learning.

In general, if you do use AI for any of your UMGC classwork, please keep these important considerations in mind: 

Be open and honest about your use of AI  

If you use an AI tool like ChatGPT for classroom work, acknowledge it, so that your professor knows. 

For example, if you use ChatGPT to draft a classroom discussion post for you, add a statement like this to the post, so you’re completely transparent about having used AI: “I used ChatGPT to write a first draft of this post. I critically evaluated the accuracy of ChatGPT’s draft, verifying facts and ideas, then I largely rewrote the AI draft in my own words and phrases.” 

If needed, you can even cite an AI tool like ChatGPT in your reference list for a writing assignment. Here are guidelines: APA ,  MLA ,  Chicago .

Verify AI content 

AI tools like ChatGPT are imperfect. They are known to create content that simply isn’t true. 

If you use AI to generate a piece of writing for you, you have to critically evaluate everything that it wrote. Use a search engine like Google to check any facts or ideas generated by AI. 

The one thing you can never do is simply put a prompt into ChatGPT for a classroom assignment, then copy and paste the AI-created content and submit it to your professor as is. That is the opposite of the kind of engaged, active learning that helps students grow intellectually. When AI does the work for you, you miss out on the learning, which can have repercussions for your future classes and career.

If you use AI, think of it as an assistant who’s efficient but not a real expert on the subject matter. You have to carefully check what AI wrote before using it as a starting point for your work. 

Add your own research and ideas

Even if you acknowledge that you used ChatGPT and checked the content's truthfulness, you cannot (as stated above) simply turn in the ChatGPT content as your entire assignment. Use ChatGPT as a basis for classwork--for example, ask ChatGPT for good research topics, or have it help you create an outline for a paper--but do not use ChatGPT for an assignment without adding your own research and ideas.

ChatGPT can help you, but the essential, meaningful core of any paper or other assignment is your work and your thought, not whatever fundamental elements you prompted ChatGPT for.

Don’t overshare with AI  

ChatGPT and other AI tools are like any other website where you type in information. Be careful to keep your personal information safe. Use a secure computer network when interacting with AI so that hackers cannot intercept information. And never type in sensitive, personal information when you query AI. For example, if you use ChatGPT to research Social Security, don’t type in your own SSN!  

Acknowledgment   

The UMGC library used ChatGPT to help write this section on AI Literacy! We typed in the prompt, "Write 2-3 paragraphs on how college students can ethically and safely use ChatGPT for research and writing.” ChatGPT responded with a brief essay that pointed out the three salient guidelines above: be open and honest, verify, don’t overshare. The library checked the accuracy of what ChatGPT wrote, and then we rewrote it extensively in our own words and phrases. We also included additional ideas, facts, and examples. 

For more information, see our comprehensive guide on  Artificial Intelligence .

Where does your source come from?

• government or military (.gov or .mil)  - Government or military websites end in .gov or .mil, and in general are reliable sources on the web. However, beware of political sites used to sway public opinion.
• university (.edu)  - University websites end in .edu, and are usually reliable. Use these sites with caution, checking for credibility and authority.
• company website (.com)  - Company websites generally end in .com. These sites are great for information about a particular company. However be aware that company websites are used to promote, so be sure the information is non-biased.
• special interest (.org)  - While many professional organizations end in .org, there are also many .orgs that are biased and promote a specific agenda.

Video Tutorial Evaluating Websites  (5:16)

The Center for News Literacy  makes the case for being smart consumers of online news. "The most profound communications revolution since the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press seems to make it harder, not easier, to determine the truth. The digital revolution is characterized by a flood of information and misinformation that news consumers can access from anywhere at any time... This superabundance of information has made it imperative that citizens learn to judge the reliability of news reports and other sources of information that is passed along their social networks."

Check the facts

There are many fact-checking websites available online. Before using one of these websites, remember, a good fact checking service will use neutral wording and will provide unbiased, authoritative sources to support their claims. Look for the criteria below when searching for the facts.

Evaluate sources

• Does the website have an "About Us" section? Does it disclose a source of funding? Knowing this information enables you to judge the website's purpose and viewpoint.
• Is information cited so that you can track down the source and verify it?
• What evidence is used to prove the author's point? Is the evidence reliable, and is it used logically?
• For more tips , see the sections above.
• Websites that contain the suffix "lo" (e.g., Newslo) or that end in ".com.co". These often present false information for satirical or other purposes.
• Websites that urge you to  dox  an individual or organization
• Websites that have amateurish design, use ALL CAPS, and try to play on your emotions Those are often signs that information is not trustworthy and that you should research it further via other sources
• Memes making the rounds on Facebook or other social media sites Try googling the topic of a meme or other doubtful story: if it is a legitimate news story, you'll probably find it covered by an established source like a major newspaper or TV news channel
• Clickbait Sensationalist headlines and odd photos whose purpose is not to publish legitimate news but to increase traffic at a website

Burst your filter bubble

Web browsers and social media sites employ algorithms that feed you information you've shown a preference for. This so called "filter bubble" connects us to news that tends to reinforce our set views, rather than challenging us with new ideas. When conducting research for class or simply making up your mind on an issue, try these strategies:

• Seek credible information from both sides of an issue : conservative and liberal; religious and atheist; industrialized and developing nations; etc.
• UMGC Library OneSearch
• Talk to people who hold views different from yours.  That solution is offered by Eli Pariser, who  wrote a book  and  did a Ted talk  on filter bubbles.

(Thanks to the following excellent guides on which we've drawn for part of the above content:  Bristol Community College  and  Stark State Digital Library .)

Open educational resources (OERs) are materials that are licensed for free use, with the purpose of teaching or learning. Use this checklist to find credible and useful OER's:

• Does the resource have a CC (Creative Commons) license where the resource can be reused or shared?
• Who is the author and what are his or her credentials? Have they written other content on this topic? Are they a professor or expert in the subject they are writing about?
• Is the content non-biased?
• Last Updated: Jan 25, 2024 8:35 AM
• URL: https://libguides.umgc.edu/credibility

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2.7: Evaluating the Quality and Credibility of Your Research

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• Steven D. Krause
• Eastern Michigan University

Finding evidence that answers a question is only the first part of the research process. You also have to evaluate the quality and credibility of your research. Inevitably, as we’ve already seen in this chapter, you do this as you consider the origins of your research—primary versus secondary research, scholarly versus popular sources, the Internet, and so forth. But evaluating the quality and credibility of your research is more subtle and complicated than just determining the source of the evidence. Consider again the example from the beginning of this chapter about deciding which computer to buy. One of the things you would have to weigh is the credibility of the information you received from your friends compared to the information you received from a salesperson at the computer store. You can probably count on your friends to be trustworthy and honest, but they might not know much about computers. Conversely, while a salesperson might know a lot about computers, you may be uncertain to what extent you can trust him to give you the best advice. The salesperson wants to sell you a computer, which means that his motivations might be consciously or unconsciously influencing the information he is providing you.

Who should you trust? We have all been in situations like this, and there is no easy way to answer that question. Chances are, you’ll make your computer decision based on your interpretation of the evidence and based on what you perceive to be the reliability and credibility of your different sources. If someone else were faced with the same computer decision and the same evidence, they might make a different choice. That is why there are different kinds of computers on the market and that is why different people can do the same sort of research about “the best” computer and why they can arrive at different conclusions.

Academic research is not much different in the sense that different researchers, considering the same or similar evidence, often arrive at different conclusions. Academic research rarely provides clear answers in the sense of definitively knowing the “rights” and “wrongs” about some issue. Not all academics think that computer hacking is wrong (or right), that the solution to commercial over-fishing is strict international control, or that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby depicts the connection between material goods and the American dream. Rather, there are debates about these issues, differences of interpretation and opinion that result from different researchers looking at the same evidence.

Furthermore, the debates about differences of opinion on how to interpret evidence are good and healthy because these discussions further our understanding of complex issues. If we all agreed that something was true, then there would be no point in conducting research and writing about it. Indeed, if we all agreed about everything and had all of our questions answered as well as we thought possible, there would be no point to education at all!

Ultimately, there is no easy formula for evaluating the credibility and reliability of research. But there are some basic questions you should ask about your all of your evidence to ensure it is reliable and credible:

• Who wrote it?

What do you think motivated the writer?

Where was it published, when was it written.

Who wrote or said it?

Is there an author named with the evidence?

If your evidence does not name the author, it might still be reliable, especially if you have confidence about where the evidence was published. However, most credible and reliable publications tell readers who wrote the articles they contain.

On Web pages and other Internet-based sources, it can sometimes be tricky to find the name of the Web page’s author. Many web sites don’t name an author, which, given the nature of the Web, should send up red flags for you as a researcher regarding the credibility of the evidence. But like print publications, more credible Web pages will include the name of the page’s writer. Be sure to look for the writer’s name throughout the particular page (including the bottom) and related pages within the Web site.

What are the qualifications of the author?

Does he or she seem to be an expert in the field?

Have he or she written about this topic before?

Are there other experiences that seem to uniquely qualify him or her as a reliable and credible source on this topic?

Many academic publications will give a lot of detail about their authors, including their degrees and academic training, the institution where they work (if they are a college professor or instructor), and other publications they have had in the past. Popular sources tend to include less information about their writers, though they too will often indicate in a byline (where the writer’s name is listed in a magazine or newspaper article) if the writer is a reporter, contributing editor, or editor for a particular subject.

Credible web sources will also describe the qualifications of the source’s author or authors. If you can find an author’s name on a Web site but you can’t find anything about their qualifications on their research subject, you should be suspicious about what that research has to say.

Have you come across the writer based on some of the other research you have done?

After you have conducted a bit of research on your topic, you might find yourself coming across the same authors writing similar articles in different publications. You might also find different publications referring to the author or her work, which would suggest that the author is indeed reliable and credible in her field. After all, if other articles and writers refer positively to a particular writer or her articles again and again, then it seems likely that the often-referred-to writer is credible.

Understanding and trusting the expertise of the author of your evidence is probably the most crucial test of credibility and reliability of that evidence.

Simply put, academics find evidence that comes from an author who is a credible expert to be much more persuasive than evidence that does not come from an expert.

For example, while my mom is a reliable source of information regarding many different topics, it would do you little good for me to interview her for an academic research project about the problems of over-fishing. Mind you, I value my mom’s thoughts and wisdom, and she might have some things to say about the effects of decreased catches of fish that I find insightful. However, because my mom doesn’t have any expertise about commercial fishing and because she doesn’t know anything more (or less) about it than most people, most of the readers of my research project won’t be persuaded by what she has to say.

On the other hand, my mother was a hospice work for many years, working with terminally ill patients and their families. If I were conducting research about the advantages and disadvantages of hospice care for terminally ill patients, my mom might be a very interesting and credible source.

Is the writer identified with a particular organization or group that might have a specific interest in the subject of the writing?

This can often be the source of conscious or unconscious bias. An obvious example: a writer who is identified as a member of the National Riflemen’s Association, which represents a variety of Americans particularly interested in protecting the right to own guns, will certainly have a different view on gun ownership than a member of The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, an organization working to enact gun control legislation.

You need to be particularly careful with Web-based sources of research when considering the writer’s affiliation with different groups or organizations. There have been numerous incidents where Web page writers falsely claimed their Web pages were affiliated with particular groups or causes.

Does the writer identify himself or herself with an explicit political group or party?

Considering a writer’s politics is particularly important when thinking about the credibility of a Web site. Besides the ease with which a writer can misrepresent themselves or others, the low cost and wide reach of the Web has also made it an attractive forum for hate groups, terrorists, and other “fringe” political movements. This doesn’t automatically mean the information you find on reactionary or radical Web sites is wrong; however, writers with particularly strong and extreme politics frequently present information that is biased to the point of inaccuracy.

Of course, while it is important to consider why a writer wrote about her subject and to think about how her motivations impact how she wrote about his or her subject, having a particular bias or motivation doesn’t automatically lead to a lack of credibility or reliability.

Was the piece of writing published in an academic or non-academic source? A book, a journal, a magazine, etc.? I’ve already discussed this a great deal in this chapter; generally speaking, academic sources are considered more credible than non-academic sources, and print-based sources are generally considered more credible than web-based sources.

But there are some more subtle tests of credibility and reliability concerning where a piece of research was published. For example, single-authored or co-authored scholarly books on a particular subject might be more regarded as more credible than a scholarly journal article because books go into much greater detail on topics than journal articles.

Are you familiar with the publication? If you are a new researcher to a particular field of study this can be a difficult question to answer since you might not have heard of some of the more well-known and credible publications known in that field. But once you get to know the field better (which will inevitably be the case as you conduct more research on your topic), chances are you will begin to realize certain publications are seen by experts in the field as more credible than others.

Last, but far from least, the date of publication can dramatically effect the credibility of your research. Obviously, this is especially important for date-sensitive research topics. If you were writing a research project about the Internet and the World Wide Web, chances are any research older than about 1990 or so would be of limited use since the Web literally did not exist before 1990.

But other potentially less obvious topics of research have date sensitive components to them. For example, if you were doing research on cigarette smoking or drunk driving, you would have to be careful about evaluating the credibility of research from the 1970s or 1960s or earlier since cultural “norms” in the United States for both smoking and drinking have changed a great deal.

Knowing (or rather, not knowing) the date of publication of a piece of research is yet another thing to be worried about when evaluating the credibility of Web-based sources. Many Web sites do not include any information about the date of publication or the date when the page was last updated. This means that you have no way of knowing when the information on that dateless page was published.

The date of publication is a key piece of information, the sort of thing that is always included in more print sources. Again, just because the date of publication or update is missing from a Web site does not automatically discount it as a credible source; however, it should make you suspicious.

Exercise 1.5

Working alone or collaboratively in small groups, consider a variety of different types of research—articles from scholarly and non-scholarly sources, newspaper articles, books, web sites, and other types of evidence. Using the criteria discussed here, how would you rate the quality and credibility of your research? Which of your sources seems the most reliable? Are there any pieces of evidence that, upon closer examination, do not seem credible or reliable?

Evidence Quality and Credibility Checklist

• The writer’s name
• Qualifications
• Expertise in the field
• Previous publications on the topic
• Unique experiences of the writer

Why did the source write or say it?

• Association with an organization or group
• The writer’s stated or implied politics

Where (what source) was it published?

• Academic/scholarly source versus non-academic/popular source
• Prior knowledge of publication

When was it published or said?

And when it comes to evidence from the ‘net and World Wide Web…

• It’s still important to know who wrote it, why you think they wrote it, where you found it online, and when was it published.
• If you don’t know the answers to the who/why/where/when questions, you should be skeptical of the evidence.
• Don’t be fooled by Web sites that “look” real, because…
• Anybody can publish information on the Web, no matter what that information is. Unlike most scholarly and many non-scholarly publications, Web writers don’t have to have the work reviewed by editors and publishers to reach an audience.
• The Internet and the World Wide Web are still good places to find research. You just have to be a bit more careful with them.

Research Basics

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How do I know if a source is credible?

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• Where can I get help editing my paper?
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1. An author who is an expert or a well-respected publisher (such as the NY Times or Wall Street Journal) .

2.  Citations for sources used.

3.  Up-to-date information for your topic.

4.  Unbiased analysis of the topic (i.e. author examines more than one perspective on the issue) .

For more assistance in determining credibility, check out these resources:

• Scholarly, Trade or Popular? This chart breaks down the criteria for what makes a publication scholarly, trade, or popular.
• Evaluating Resources Flowchart + BEAM Use this flowchart to walk yourself through the process of evaluating books and articles for scholarship.

• << Previous: 3. Evaluate Sources
• Next: How do I know if a source is scholarly/peer reviewed? >>
• Last Updated: Sep 7, 2023 8:33 AM
• URL: https://hbl.gcc.libguides.com/research

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Impact AND credibility matter when researchers evaluate research

by Veronique Kiermer, Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, & James Harney.

Today we’ve posted a report , along with accompanying data, on qualitative research we conducted about how researchers assess the credibility and impact of research. This study, which has not yet been peer reviewed, was supported by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and conducted with the assistance of the American Society for Cell Biology . The findings will inform future PLOS activities to support improved research assessment practices — specifically to support efforts to move emphasis towards individual research outputs and away from journal-level metrics. 

As we wrote in October 2020, we are interested in how researchers evaluate research outputs when (1) conducting their own research, and (2) when they take part in committees for hiring or grant review. In particular, we were interested in how researchers make judgments about the credibility and impact of the research outputs — including papers, preprints, research data — that they encounter in these contexts.

We interviewed 52 cell biology researchers.  Our approach focused on the goals they are trying to achieve (e.g.”identify impactful research to read”), rather than the tools they are presently using to carry out these tasks. By focusing on researchers’ goals (the what ) rather than how they are achieving them, we sought to better understand how we might influence those practices. This qualitative research will be followed by survey work to better quantify our findings. This will provide insights into opportunities for better solutions for improved research assessment. In particular, we’ll understand what signals of credibility and impact might provide researchers with more useful ways than journal impact factor or journal prestige to assess the quality and credibility of individual studies and individual researchers.

Our results confirmed our initial hypothesis that the credibility (or trustworthiness) of research outputs is the central concern for researchers when conducting their own research, and that impact was a strong focus when researchers are part of hiring or grant review committees. But we established that researchers also assess attributes of research outputs related to reproducibility, quality, and novelty. 

In addition, we found that researchers said they assessed credibility in committees more frequently than we anticipated, given that impact considerations — including journal impact factor — are prevalent in committee guidance and research assessment objectives (see for example McKiernan et al . (2019), Niles et al. (2020), Alperin et al. (2020), and Sugimoto & Larivière (2018)).

Our interviews confirmed that convenient proxies for credibility and impact, usually those based on journals, are used pervasively and are common in both research discovery and committee activities. 

Our research also indicates that when researchers inspect publications to evaluate credibility they try to minimize the amount of time they spend reading and understanding publications. Their tactics included selective reading of the abstracts, figures, and methods sections. Sometimes they said that they also look for signals such as whether data was available and had been reused, whether peer-reviewed versions of preprints have been published, and whether open peer review reports were available. 

Insights that help us better understand what researchers’ goals are and how they make judgements about credibility when discovering and reading research may offer opportunities to provide more reliable signals that help them with these tasks, yet are better tailored for credibility judgments than journal-level metrics. The stated importance of assessing credibility by researchers who participate in research assessment committees also suggests an opportunity for funders and institutions to better align their guidelines with the practice and motivations of committee members. 

After our follow-up survey work to validate these preliminary findings, we will report back and hope that this research will help others in the understanding and development of better methods of research assessment.

Note: The following announcement was published by the East African Science and Technology Commission (EASTECO). PLOS is a proud partner of EASTECO…

Since September 2023, cOAlition S, in partnership with Jisc and PLOS, have been working with a multi-stakeholder working group to identify business…

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What makes a scientific article credible? A look at peer review and impact factors

Imagine you want to eat out tonight and decide to try out a new restaurant in your town. How do you choose which restaurant to go to? Do you check online for reviews or ask your friends for recommendations? Now, imagine that you narrow your choices down to two restaurants. One of them has five-star reviews from the top chefs of your country and the other has no reviews. Which restaurant are you more likely to choose?

You’re probably even more selective when choosing which journal articles to rely on for evidence-based medicine. A vast amount of research is being published regularly and sifting through the numerous articles can be daunting. Here are three questions that will help you quickly determine an article’s credibility:

• Is it published in a peer-reviewed journal?
• Is it published in a journal with a high impact factor?
• Is it cited by other authors in their papers?

What is a peer-reviewed journal?

Peer-reviewed journals are considered the gold standard of scientific research publications. Reputable journals have subject matter experts who volunteer their time to review submitted articles and evaluate their credibility. Think of the peer-review process as a team of experts reviewing and approving the work before you see it.

How does the peer-review process work?

During the submission process, experts raise any concerns they may have with an article to the authors. An article is evaluated on its originality, significant findings, research methodology, and writing. The reviewers usually come back to the authors with comments and suggestions on how to make the article (e.g., study) better. The authors are then given a specific amount of time to respond back with their revisions. Once an article meets the standards of the editorial board, it is cleared for publication. If it doesn’t meet the standards, it will be rejected, and the authors will usually submit the article to another (usually less prestigious) journal.

How does the peer-review process differ across journal publications?

The length of time that the peer-review process takes differs across publications. As well, some journals do not share the authors’ names with the reviewers, and the authors are unaware of who reviewed their paper. Other journals fully disclose the authors’ names and affiliated institutions.

What are some problems with the peer-review process?

The peer-review process is not perfect. Faulty scientific papers do still get published due to potential loopholes. For example, a journal relies on the integrity of its editorial board. Experts are not paid for their work. They may be working with tight deadlines making it difficult for them to critically evaluate all the research that comes their way.

Experts also shouldn’t have any personal affiliations with the authors of the study. Would you trust a chef’s review of a restaurant if you found out he owned it? Or that the owner was his daughter? Finally, peer-reviewers only see the manuscript that is in front of them. They don’t get to see the raw data that the researchers used. So, any errors in the data may not be picked up by them.

Determining where an article is published is an important step for determining its credibility. The peer-review process is the first test of a scientific article’s credibility. Ideally, experts in the specific field will be best equipped to identify potential concerns with a paper’s methodology and findings. Rigorous journal standards should filter out dodgy scientific papers before they are released to the public. But, remember that the peer-review process does not guarantee a journal article’s validity.

What is an impact factor?

A journal publication that claims to be peer-reviewed may still be unreliable. One way to ensure its credibility is to examine its impact factor. The impact factor, or IF, of a journal publication is the number of times an average paper published in the journal is cited by other articles. It gives you an idea of how reputable the journal’s articles are. Ideally, an impact factor gives you an impression of a journal publication’s impact on the scientific community.

In general, credible journals have high impact factors. Conversely, a low impact factor may indicate that a journal is predatory and unreliable. However, the actual value of a specific impact factor may differ across disciplines. An impact factor of three may be considered low for a wide-ranging specialty (such as internal medicine), but considered high for a specific discipline such as physics. Impact factors are best used when compared between journals within your target field.

Where can you find a journal’s impact factor?

A journal’s impact factor can usually be found on the journal’s website. However, it may be tricky to locate. Sometimes, the impact factor listed may even be fake! One sign of a predatory journal is that they may list a made-up impact factor on their website to fake credibility. It’s important to verify the impact factor on a journal’s website with an online database that lists this type of information. The best-known site, Web of Science Journal Citation Reports (JCR) , is a great online resource to find the latest impact factor for a journal.

What are some problems with impact factors?

As we already mentioned, predatory journals may just make up an impact factor on their website. So, you’ll need to cross-reference what they state with credible databases.

Younger journals that may be credible won’t be able to have an impact factor for the first two years since impact factors aren’t calculated for journals that are less than two years old.

Also, impact factors are calculated using the average number of citations in a publication. This means that a journal with a few highly cited articles will have a high impact factor although most of the articles are not cited. So, a journal’s impact factor isn’t always an accurate reflection of how an individual paper is cited.

Does an article have multiple citations?

A great source to directly evaluate an article’s credibility is Google Scholar , which allows you to see how many times an article has been cited.

If an article is cited by other papers, this usually means that the authors’ citing it think that it’s legitimate and valuable research. Overall, articles with many citations are deemed valuable by many researchers.

Just as positive reviews of a product can be a good indication of the product’s quality, a well-received article with many citations can give you a good idea about the article’s quality.

The problem with citations

However, multiple citations do not always equal quality research. For example, researchers may cite their own work in other articles. These articles will then appear as highly cited on Google Scholar. As well, if there are thousands of citations it doesn’t necessarily mean that all of those citations are from credible authors. Think about the reviews you may find for a popular Thai restaurant promising authentic cuisine. How many of those reviewers have experience with authentic Thai cuisine in the first place?

So, now you know how to check an article’s credibility by looking for peer reviews, citations, and the journal’s impact factor. But what about the people writing the papers? Check out the next article in this guide to learn how to assess whether an author has the experience and credentials to write a credible research article .

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About the author.

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Who are the people behind the papers examining an author’s credentials.

Learn the essential tips for finding and verifying an author’s credentials in a scientific journal article.

Reference management. Clean and simple.

Credible sources: what are they and how to identify them

Be skeptical

• Examine the source's and author's credentials and affiliations
• Evaluate what sources are cited by the author
• Make sure the source is up-to-date
• Check the endorsements and reviews that the source received
• Check if the publisher of the source is reputable

Make sure the source does not use loaded or vague terms to support itself

Beware of bias, frequently asked questions about finding credible sources, related articles.

A source is credible when it is trustworthy. Sometimes it is hard to determine whether 'credible' sources are trustworthy or not, as voicing an opinion or presenting false information as fact without any credentials or proof is easy for anyone, especially online.

Sources can often appear credible even when there is little evidence to support them - just think of the many pseudoscience-based articles that go viral on social media sites. Here are a few points to consider when evaluating sources for credibility:

Just because something is presented as a fact, it doesn't mean that it is. Question everything, books, articles, and websites can all be unreliable sources.

Always research the background of any resources you are considering using for your paper. Consider the author's credentials and affiliations during your search for sources, are they associated with a certain special interest group or another biased source of funding? Can the author/source be biased because of certain views and affiliations?

Unless the author is analyzing their own data, their information came from somewhere. Beware if the author doesn't list academic sources. Always review the type of sources listed and make sure they stand up to scrutiny.

Nowadays, due to the speed at which technology moves, information and reliable sites go out of date quickly. Make sure that your source is still relevant and applicable and comes from a trustworthy author.

You can read reviews of books printed or on the websites of online book retailers. You can find reviews of larger reputable websites. Some smaller sources, like journal articles, might not have reviews readily available, but you can check if the authors are authoritative sources in their field.

Large publishers or reputable magazines and journals will thoroughly check the facts of the information they are distributing, which makes these sources pretty safe. This is especially true if the source in question comes from peer-reviewed journals or other scholarly databases.

Some of the other source-evaluation methods you can use include investigating the types of sources the author decided to use. Credible journal articles will have more source credibility than personal blogs, for example. This is because journal articles are created by academics that hold the proper credentials and have to make use of reputable sources in order to get through peer review.

Pieces that are public opinion or opinion pieces do not hold up to the same standard as academic writing. Even news articles can be biased sources; in the past few years, fake news has become widespread in online search engines. Major newspapers have fallen prey to this in recent years.

Beware of sources that use vague terms like "recent studies show", or "many people believe", without backing up these claims with citations. Online sources are notorious for this - remember that their ultimate goal is to maximize their readership and not to produce scholarly, peer-reviewed articles.

Also, beware of buzzwords playing on the readers' emotions. Many internet sources will use misleading titles in order to draw in readers, even if they are non-credible sources.

Always evaluate if the source presents clear and unbiased information or if it aims at persuading you to take on a specific point of view. A source written from a specific point of view may still be credible, but it can limit the coverage of a topic to a particular side of a debate. It's always better to make use of sources that show both sides of the story.

Many academic papers have to give an overview of the other scholarly articles they used as citations.

If you want to find out more about credible sources and how to find and evaluate them, check out the following sources:

• How can I find credible sources?
• Is a blog a credible source?
• Is Wikipedia a credible source?
• BYU LibGuide: Evaluating Credibility

A source is credible when it is trustworthy. The exact definition changes depending from the field of research. In general, a credible source is an unbiased reference backed up by real facts.

Here are some aspects to watch out for to determine if a source is credible or not:

Mostly in the humanities, arts, history, and literature, a source should not be older than 10 years to be considered up-to-date and credible. Any source older than 10 years should be avoided.

Usually, if the publisher is a large widely known magazine or journal, then it is a credible publisher. Examples of these publishers are Science Mag or Nature . These publishers thoroughly check the facts of the information they are distributing, which makes these sources pretty safe.

When a source is biased, it aims at persuading you from a specific view. A source written from a specific point of view may still be credible, but it can limit the coverage of a topic to a particular side of a debate. Make sure to always evaluate if the source presents clear and unbiased information, or if it aims at persuading you to take on a specific point of view.

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Credible and Peer Reviewed Sources of Information

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If you are writing a research paper, you will be required to support your paper’s argument with research from

In the case of most research papers, you will be expected to use  peer-reviewed articles  to support your claims. if your paper does not require that you use peer-reviewed information, you still need to rely on  credible sources of information  to support your argument. ..

• Peer Reviewed Sources
• Limiting EBSCO Search Results
• Credible Sources
• Research Log

What does it mean?

Scholarly articles are written by professionals in a given field of study. they are written for an academic audience rather than a general audience. oftentimes, scholarly articles go through a peer-review process , which means the articles are examined prior to being published to ensure that the research contained within the article conforms to standards for that particular discipline. this editorial process helps ensure high standards and academic quality. , 'scholarly’ means written by and for academics.  , 'peer-reviewed’ or ‘juried’ means the article was reviewed by other experts in the discipline to ensure it contains sound research practices. these articles are highly credible., not all scholarly articles are peer-reviewed., all peer-reviewed articles, however, are scholarly articles., not every article in a peer-reviewed journal is necessarily peer-reviewed. book reviews and editorials, for example, might not be. look for clues (like a list of references in addition to information about the journal) to help you decide., how can i find them, you can use library resources to find scholarly or peer-reviewed articles., options to limit your search..

Limit your results at the beginning of your search:

You may also limit your results by modifying your search..

What is a Credible Source?

When you write an academic paper, your instructor may allow you to use credible information from the internet. since anyone can post content on the internet, it's very important to understand that not everything you find online is from a credible source. , questions to ask when determining credibility , ask yourself these questions before deciding if what you are looking at is coming from a credible source:, who – look for information created by an identifiable author or organization, is there an author name, are any credentials or background information available on the author – can you tell if the author is qualified to write about this topic, is there a way to contact the author, whether it’s an individual or an organization, what – what information is presented and in what context, is the content aimed at a specific audience or the general public, are there unbelievable or emotional claims, are facts backed up by sources look for additional links, references, footnotes, or citations that tell you where the author got his or her information., does the site have a lot of advertising are the advertisements labeled, if there is no advertising, who is funding the site, why – think about why the information was created., is the purpose of the site to inform, persuade, to sell or to entertain, if a site doesn’t present a balanced look at an issue, make sure you consult other resources that represent all sides of it., when – look for publication dates if you need current information., is there a date of publication or most recent update, is the information current considering your issue, where - look at the website url to help determine who is behind the site., (be aware -  information will still need to be evaluated.), .gov are government websites, .edu are typically education-related websites, .org are typically nonprofit organizations, .net are networking and business organizations, .mil are u.s. military organizations, .com are commercial sites, this video tutorial also gives you more information about how to identify peer-reviewed articles and where to locate them in the library. when in doubt about a resource, ask your instructor, or email us at:  [email protected] .

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• 29 April 2024

How reliable is this research? Tool flags papers discussed on PubPeer

• Dalmeet Singh Chawla

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

You have full access to this article via your institution.

RedacTek’s tool alerts users to PubPeer discussions, and indicates when a study, or the papers that it cites, has been retracted. Credit: deepblue4you/Getty

A free online tool released earlier this month alerts researchers if a paper cites studies that are mentioned on the website PubPeer , a forum scientists often use to raise integrity concerns surrounding published papers.

Studies are usually flagged on PubPeer when readers have suspicions, for example about image manipulation , plagiarism , data fabrication or artificial intelligence (AI)-generated text . PubPeer already offers its own browser plug-in that alerts users if a study that they are reading has been posted on the site. The new tool, a plug-in released on 13 April by RedacTek , based in Oakland, California, goes further — it searches through reference lists for papers that have been flagged. The software pulls information from many sources, including PubPeer’s database; data from the digital-infrastructure organization Crossref, which assigns digital object identifiers to articles; and OpenAlex , a free index of hundreds of millions of scientific documents.

It’s important to track mentions of referenced articles on PubPeer, says Jodi Schneider, an information scientist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who has tried out the RedacTek plug-in. “Not every single reference that’s in the bibliography matters, but some of them do,” she adds. “When you see a large number of problems in somebody’s bibliography, that just calls everything into question.”

The aim of the tool is to flag potential problems with studies to researchers early on, to reduce the circulation of poor-quality science, says RedacTek founder Rick Meyler, who is based in Emeryville, California. Future versions might also use AI to automatically clarify whether the PubPeer comments on a paper are positive or negative, he adds.

Third-generation retractions

As well as flagging PubPeer discussions, the plug-in alerts users if a study, or a paper that it cites, has been retracted. There are existing tools that alert academics about retracted citations ; some can do this during the writing process, so that researchers are aware of the publication status of studies when constructing bibliographies. But with the new tool, users can opt in to receive notifications about further ‘generations’ of retractions — alerts cover not only the study that they are reading, but also the papers it cites, articles cited by those references and even papers cited by the secondary references.

The software also calculates a ‘retraction association value’ for studies, a metric that measures the extent to which the paper is associated with science that has been withdrawn from the literature. As well as informing individual researchers, the plug-in could help scholarly publishers to keep tabs on their own journals, Meyler says, because it allows users to filter by publication.

In its ‘paper scorecard’, the tool also flags any papers in the three generations of referenced studies in which more than 25% of papers in the bibliography are self-citations — references by authors to their previous works.

Future versions could highlight whether papers cited retracted studies before or after the retraction was issued, notes Meyler, or whether mentions of such studies acknowledge the retraction. That would be useful, says Schneider, who co-authored a 2020 analysis that found that as little as 4% of citations to retracted studies note that the referenced paper has been retracted 1 .

Meyler says that RedacTek is currently in talks with the scholarly-services firm Cabell’s International in Beaumont, Texas, which maintains pay-to-view lists of suspected predatory journals . These publish articles without running proper quality checks for issues such as plagiarism, but still collect authors’ fees. The plan is to use these lists to improve the tool so that it can also automatically flag any cited papers that are published in such journals.

Nature 629 , 271-272 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01247-6

Schneider, J., Ye, D., Hill, A. M. & Whitehorn, A. S. Scientometrics 125 , 2877–2913 (2020).

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Reliability and validity: Importance in Medical Research

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• 1 Al-Nafees Medical College,Isra University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
• 2 Fauji Foundation Hospital, Foundation University Medical College, Islamabad, Pakistan.
• PMID: 34974579
• DOI: 10.47391/JPMA.06-861

Reliability and validity are among the most important and fundamental domains in the assessment of any measuring methodology for data-collection in a good research. Validity is about what an instrument measures and how well it does so, whereas reliability concerns the truthfulness in the data obtained and the degree to which any measuring tool controls random error. The current narrative review was planned to discuss the importance of reliability and validity of data-collection or measurement techniques used in research. It describes and explores comprehensively the reliability and validity of research instruments and also discusses different forms of reliability and validity with concise examples. An attempt has been taken to give a brief literature review regarding the significance of reliability and validity in medical sciences.

Keywords: Validity, Reliability, Medical research, Methodology, Assessment, Research tools..

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The Ultimate Guide to Crafting Impactful Recommendations in Research

Are you ready to take your research to the next level? Crafting impactful recommendations is the key to unlocking the full potential of your study. By providing clear, actionable suggestions based on your findings, you can bridge the gap between research and real-world application.

In this ultimate guide, we'll show you how to write recommendations that make a difference in your research report or paper.

You'll learn how to craft specific, actionable recommendations that connect seamlessly with your research findings. Whether you're a student, writer, teacher, or journalist, this guide will help you master the art of writing recommendations in research. Let's get started and make your research count!

Understanding the Purpose of Recommendations

Recommendations in research serve as a vital bridge between your findings and their real-world applications. They provide specific, action-oriented suggestions to guide future studies and decision-making processes. Let's dive into the key purposes of crafting effective recommendations:

Guiding Future Research

Research recommendations play a crucial role in steering scholars and researchers towards promising avenues of exploration. By highlighting gaps in current knowledge and proposing new research questions, recommendations help advance the field and drive innovation.

Influencing Decision-Making

Well-crafted recommendations have the power to shape policies, programs, and strategies across various domains, such as:

• Policy-making
• Product development
• Marketing strategies
• Medical practice

By providing clear, evidence-based suggestions, recommendations facilitate informed decision-making and improve outcomes.

Connecting Research to Practice

Recommendations act as a conduit for transferring knowledge from researchers to practitioners, policymakers, and stakeholders. They bridge the gap between academic findings and their practical applications, ensuring that research insights are effectively translated into real-world solutions.

Enhancing Research Impact

By crafting impactful recommendations, you can amplify the reach and influence of your research, attracting attention from peers, funding agencies, and decision-makers.

Addressing Limitations

Recommendations provide an opportunity to acknowledge and address the limitations of your study. By suggesting concrete and actionable possibilities for future research, you demonstrate a thorough understanding of your work's scope and potential areas for improvement.

Identifying Areas for Future Research

Discovering research gaps is a crucial step in crafting impactful recommendations. It involves reviewing existing studies and identifying unanswered questions or problems that warrant further investigation. Here are some strategies to help you identify areas for future research:

Explore Research Limitations

Take a close look at the limitations section of relevant studies. These limitations often provide valuable insights into potential areas for future research. Consider how addressing these limitations could enhance our understanding of the topic at hand.

Critically Analyze Discussion and Future Research Sections

When reading articles, pay special attention to the discussion and future research sections. These sections often highlight gaps in the current knowledge base and propose avenues for further exploration. Take note of any recurring themes or unanswered questions that emerge across multiple studies.

Utilize Targeted Search Terms

To streamline your search for research gaps, use targeted search terms such as "literature gap" or "future research" in combination with your subject keywords. This approach can help you quickly identify articles that explicitly discuss areas for future investigation.

Seek Guidance from Experts

Don't hesitate to reach out to your research advisor or other experts in your field. Their wealth of knowledge and experience can provide valuable insights into potential research gaps and emerging trends.

By employing these strategies, you'll be well-equipped to identify research gaps and craft recommendations that push the boundaries of current knowledge. Remember, the goal is to refine your research questions and focus your efforts on areas where more understanding is needed.

Structuring Your Recommendations

When it comes to structuring your recommendations, it's essential to keep them concise, organized, and tailored to your audience. Here are some key tips to help you craft impactful recommendations:

Prioritize and Organize

• Limit your recommendations to the most relevant and targeted suggestions for your peers or colleagues in the field.
• Place your recommendations at the end of the report, as they are often top of mind for readers.
• Write your recommendations in order of priority, with the most important ones for decision-makers coming first.

Use a Clear and Actionable Format

• Write recommendations in a clear, concise manner using actionable words derived from the data analyzed in your research.
• Use bullet points instead of long paragraphs for clarity and readability.
• Ensure that your recommendations are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely (SMART).

Connect Recommendations to Research

By following this simple formula, you can ensure that your recommendations are directly connected to your research and supported by a clear rationale.

Tailor to Your Audience

• Consider the needs and interests of your target audience when crafting your recommendations.
• Explain how your recommendations can solve the issues explored in your research.
• Acknowledge any limitations or constraints of your study that may impact the implementation of your recommendations.

Avoid Common Pitfalls

• Don't undermine your own work by suggesting incomplete or unnecessary recommendations.
• Avoid using recommendations as a place for self-criticism or introducing new information not covered in your research.
• Ensure that your recommendations are achievable and comprehensive, offering practical solutions for the issues considered in your paper.

By structuring your recommendations effectively, you can enhance the reliability and validity of your research findings, provide valuable strategies and suggestions for future research, and deliver impactful solutions to real-world problems.

Crafting Actionable and Specific Recommendations

Crafting actionable and specific recommendations is the key to ensuring your research findings have a real-world impact. Here are some essential tips to keep in mind:

Embrace Flexibility and Feasibility

Your recommendations should be open to discussion and new information, rather than being set in stone. Consider the following:

• Be realistic and considerate of your team's capabilities when making recommendations.
• Prioritize recommendations based on impact and reach, but be prepared to adjust based on team effort levels.
• Focus on solutions that require the fewest changes first, adopting an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) approach.

Provide Detailed and Justified Recommendations

To avoid vagueness and misinterpretation, ensure your recommendations are:

• Detailed, including photos, videos, or screenshots whenever possible.
• Justified based on research findings, providing alternatives when findings don't align with expectations or business goals.

Use this formula when writing recommendations:

Observed problem/pain point/unmet need + consequence + potential solution

Adopt a Solution-Oriented Approach

Foster collaboration and participation.

• Promote staff education on current research and create strategies to encourage adoption of promising clinical protocols.
• Include representatives from the treatment community in the development of the research initiative and the review of proposals.
• Require active, early, and permanent participation of treatment staff in the development, implementation, and interpretation of the study.

Tailor Recommendations to the Opportunity

When writing recommendations for a specific opportunity or program:

• Highlight the strengths and qualifications of the researcher.
• Provide specific examples of their work and accomplishments.
• Explain how their research has contributed to the field.
• Emphasize the researcher's potential for future success and their unique contributions.

By following these guidelines, you'll craft actionable and specific recommendations that drive meaningful change and showcase the value of your research.

Connecting Recommendations with Research Findings

Connecting your recommendations with research findings is crucial for ensuring the credibility and impact of your suggestions. Here's how you can seamlessly link your recommendations to the evidence uncovered in your study:

Grounding Recommendations in Research

Your recommendations should be firmly rooted in the data and insights gathered during your research process. Avoid including measures or suggestions that were not discussed or supported by your study findings. This approach ensures that your recommendations are evidence-based and directly relevant to the research at hand.

Highlighting the Significance of Collaboration

Research collaborations offer a wealth of benefits that can enhance an agency's competitive position. Consider the following factors when discussing the importance of collaboration in your recommendations:

• Organizational Development: Participation in research collaborations depends on an agency's stage of development, compatibility with its mission and culture, and financial stability.
• Trust-Building: Long-term collaboration success often hinges on a history of increasing involvement and trust between partners.
• Infrastructure: A permanent infrastructure that facilitates long-term development is key to successful collaborative programs.

Emphasizing Commitment and Participation

Fostering quality improvement and organizational learning.

In your recommendations, highlight the importance of enhancing quality improvement strategies and fostering organizational learning. Show sensitivity to the needs and constraints of community-based programs, as this understanding is crucial for effective collaboration and implementation.

Addressing Limitations and Implications

If not already addressed in the discussion section, your recommendations should mention the limitations of the study and their implications. Examples of limitations include:

• Sample size or composition
• Participant attrition
• Study duration

By acknowledging these limitations, you demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of your research and its potential impact.

By connecting your recommendations with research findings, you provide a solid foundation for your suggestions, emphasize the significance of collaboration, and showcase the potential for future research and practical applications.

Crafting impactful recommendations is a vital skill for any researcher looking to bridge the gap between their findings and real-world applications. By understanding the purpose of recommendations, identifying areas for future research, structuring your suggestions effectively, and connecting them to your research findings, you can unlock the full potential of your study. Remember to prioritize actionable, specific, and evidence-based recommendations that foster collaboration and drive meaningful change.

As you embark on your research journey, embrace the power of well-crafted recommendations to amplify the impact of your work. By following the guidelines outlined in this ultimate guide, you'll be well-equipped to write recommendations that resonate with your audience, inspire further investigation, and contribute to the advancement of your field. So go forth, make your research count, and let your recommendations be the catalyst for positive change.

Q: What are the steps to formulating recommendations in research? A: To formulate recommendations in research, you should first gain a thorough understanding of the research question. Review the existing literature to inform your recommendations and consider the research methods that were used. Identify which data collection techniques were employed and propose suitable data analysis methods. It's also essential to consider any limitations and ethical considerations of your research. Justify your recommendations clearly and finally, provide a summary of your recommendations.

Q: Why are recommendations significant in research studies? A: Recommendations play a crucial role in research as they form a key part of the analysis phase. They provide specific suggestions for interventions or strategies that address the problems and limitations discovered during the study. Recommendations are a direct response to the main findings derived from data collection and analysis, and they can guide future actions or research.

Q: Can you outline the seven steps involved in writing a research paper? A: Certainly. The seven steps to writing an excellent research paper include:

• Allowing yourself sufficient time to complete the paper.
• Defining the scope of your essay and crafting a clear thesis statement.
• Conducting a thorough yet focused search for relevant research materials.
• Reading the research materials carefully and taking detailed notes.
• Writing your paper based on the information you've gathered and analyzed.
• Editing your paper to ensure clarity, coherence, and correctness.
• Submitting your paper following the guidelines provided.

Q: What tips can help make a research paper more effective? A: To enhance the effectiveness of a research paper, plan for the extensive process ahead and understand your audience. Decide on the structure your research writing will take and describe your methodology clearly. Write in a straightforward and clear manner, avoiding the use of clichés or overly complex language.

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May 7, 2024

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

fact-checked

peer-reviewed publication

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'Doing your own research' can make fake news seem believable

by Leila Okahata, University of Oregon

While it's healthy to question what we see and hear in the media, those quick internet searches to fact-check news stories can unexpectedly backfire and lead people to believe false stories , according to the director of the University of Oregon's undergraduate journalism program.

As more people tune into the press for the upcoming election cycle, Seth Lewis, who holds the Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media at UO's School of Journalism and Communication, said caution is in order when trying to verify media accounts.

For those who plan to cast a vote in this year's statewide and presidential elections , not knowing what media sources and stories to trust can lead one to end up more misinformed.

"The big takeaway is there are social costs to not trusting journalists and institutions," Lewis said. "There's the cost of encountering poor-quality information and the cost in time that could be spent on other activities besides trying to fact-check the news."

Drawing on interviews conducted in 2020, a time when people were relying heavily on the news for guidance on the COVID-19 pandemic, Lewis and his University of Utah colleague Jacob L. Nelson found that Americans had greater faith in their abilities to fact-check the news than they had in the news itself. Many of those interviewed reported feeling the need to "do their own research" using search engines because of their distrust in journalism as biased and politicized.

But those who reject journalism in favor of their own internet research can wind up more misinformed, falling into conspiracy theories , rabbit holes and low-quality data voids, a problem heightened during election season, Lewis said.

As supported in recent work by a different set of researchers, which appears in the journal Nature , when people were encouraged to do additional searching after reading true and fake stories on the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, they were more likely to believe in fake news than those who hadn't performed an online search.

As ballots for Oregon's statewide election hit mailboxes in May and the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, equipping voters with the tools to more effectively navigate the infinite information environment can increase their access to high-quality news sources, research shows.

In their 2020 interviews, Lewis and Nelson found that frustration and distrust in the news surprisingly crossed partisan lines. People who were interviewed shared the sentiment that only "sheep" would trust journalists and also had a common desire to better understand the world. Yet to uncover that clear, accurate picture, information seekers must challenge not only a news source's biases and reputability but also one's own biases that might influence what stories they trust or dismiss, Lewis said.

"That skepticism should be applied as much to ourselves as to others," he said. "You should be a little bit skeptical of your own opinions."

Waning trust in news media can be traced back to the 1970s and has been rapidly accelerating in recent years because of several challenging crises the United States has faced, Lewis said.

"We're in a moment where we are increasingly realizing that news is both everywhere and nowhere," he said. "News is all around us yet seems to have, in some sense, less impact than it did before. It's never been easier to stumble upon news, but people often talk about being exhausted by it and, therefore, are turning away from it at unprecedented levels."

Journalists can do better to earn the public's trust, Lewis said. Many individuals don't see journalists as experts nor have a strong relationship with them as they do with their doctors, for example.

Although there is a fair bit of distrust in both journalism and health care as institutions, people are more trusting of individual doctors and don't feel the need to fact-check them as they do for individual journalists, Lewis found in a 2023 study published in the journal Media and Communication .

"But journalists are experts," Lewis said. "They are experts in finding accurate information and trying to present it in a professional manner, but they can also do better in presenting themselves as practitioners with expertise."

Bringing transparency into the practice of journalism can illuminate what some people see as a black box. In their latest research study , published April 25 in the research publication Journalism , Lewis and his team noticed in interviews that many Americans perceived journalists as motivated by profits. But in reality, most journalists are paid rather poorly and are motivated more by passion than pursuit of profit, he said. Widespread job cuts also have hit the industry, with hundreds of journalists laid off at the start of 2024.

A disconnect exists between how people perceive journalism and how it actually works, and journalists should share the principles, techniques and challenges that go into it, Lewis said.

Journalists can also embrace more public engagement in their work. For instance, Lewis' UO colleague Ed Madison leads the Journalistic Learning Initiative, which gives middle- and high-schoolers the opportunity to learn journalistic techniques, become more media literate and tell factual stories about their world.

"What it takes to build trust in journalism is the same as anywhere else," Lewis said. "By building relationships."

Journal information: Nature

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Elicit: How To Use It To Teach

E licit aims to make research quicker and easier by using artificial intelligence to speed up the process. The idea is to give educators all the information only in a far quicker way.

AI tools are cropping up all over with lots focused on education. This particular one is specifically tailored to research with a view to offering summaries and citing data extraction in an automated way.

So while this is a useful tool for teachers, it could also be used by more advanced students who wish to learn about a subject directly from primary sources of information.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about Elicit so you can decide if it could help in your class.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

What is Elicit?

Elicit is an AI powered tool that takes multiple research papers and offers summaries and data extraction to give you a quick overview of the information contained within, including sources -- ultimately, saving you time.

Elicit effectively acts as a frontline for research, allowing the user to explore unfamiliar literature. It's then possible to dive in deeper if needed, only this way lets you explore a wider area before drilling down thanks to that AI help.

Usefully, this works with conversational-style interactivity, so it is very easy to use and lets you ask for what you want in a natural way. As such, even the less tech-savvy should be able to get the most out of this tool right away.

This is a bit like a super smart search engine -- think Google Scholar -- only combined with the smarts of ChatGPT. All that helps you find information from primary research paper sources as if searching the internet.

How does Elicit work?

Elicit uses a simple search bar that allows you to ask a question naturally, which will get an answer that pulls in research from many relevant papers. Crucially, it is shared in a concise way that gives you an immediate feel for where you may want to explore next.

Elicit lets you search and then gives you a summary of results, citing sources. That can mean you may have a few sentences to answer a question, yet that information has come from several research papers. You can then click into each to dive deeper and get more information on any area that's specifically useful to you.

Each paper is also listed below with a summary for that particular research result laid out next to it, giving you another layer of data before you need to go deeper.

The option to search using concepts is available, which allows you to find themes that run across papers. You might be asking about research on time or space and will find this search technique reveals trends that are coming across research right now -- ideal as a theme to explore in class.

What are the best Elicit features?

Elicit is super simple to use and helpfully gives everything top level with layers beneath that. You can scan and search quickly without having to dip into a paper only to find it's not relevant, as you may have had to traditionally.

Elicit offers access to more than 200 million academic papers, at time of publishing, all of which can be searched using natural language. Usefully, this system will likely help you discover papers you might previously not have found -- making for unique teaching that expands student knowledge through and beyond the curriculum.

Elicit is best when it comes to number-based science, so for empirical research on biomedicine and machine learning, for example, the results are powerful. As you get more into the social sciences this may not be as effective, it's worth noting.

It is also possible to upload papers to Elicit that will be held privately, allowing you to use any in research output only. A lot of this is available for free with a credit system to go further, but more on that next.

How much does Elicit cost?

Elicit is free to use for most of its basic functionality. It also offers some subscription options to get you more and a credit system in which you can do more as you spend these -- adding columns to tables or running workflows are charged using these.

Free gets you the ability to search papers, extract data, find concepts, upload your own papers, and save results to view later. This include 5,000 credits.

Go for the Plus tier at $120/year and you get 12,000 credits, the ability to buy more credits as needed, export to RIS, CSV, and BIB, high-accuracy mode, use of information from tables in papers, and priority customer support.

The   Institution model is available at custom pricing that lets you share credits across your organization, invoice-based billing, and top priority customer support. Plus, you can buy as many credits as you need.

Elicit best tips and tricks

Research as a class

Show students how to use this tool as a research aid by using it on the big screen in class, being sure to focus on checking sources.

Have students share an area of research they find interesting then use the tool in the week to plan for the next lesson, with fresh papers to draw in current developments.

Create an initial question and have students answer it, in summary as well as with depth and references, to work with this tool helpfully.