Read the Passage. Do you agree or disagree, or can you relate to his or her opinion in the post? Can you add any thoughts or additional information that you may have found concerning their topic?
There are many ways to identify whether a source is credible or not credible. Doing your research and investigation about a source and whether it is credible is important. Having reliable sources gives more credibility to your research and writing pertaining to the field. Many techniques that are used to identify a credible source are not reliable on their own but are reliable when paired with other techniques. The more reliable the source is the more reliable the material that is written will be. Some techniques that are used are identifying whether the source is scholarly or popular, identifying whether the source is a primary source or secondary source, identifying what kind of domain is used, and researching the reliability of the author or organization (Purdue OWL).
It is important to avoid things that are for promotion and search for educational-based content. One factor that helps determine whether a source is reliable is if the source is peer reviewed. According to the American Psychological Association, peer-reviewing is important feedback on research and writings from collogues with similar expertise (APA). For example, A clinical psychologist who specializes in abnormal psychology in children might peer review a study on bipolar disorder in adolescence. Peer reviewing is a great source to see if a writing is reliable and meets the requirements of the peers in that field (APA). It also shows that there is consistency between the information in this study and the information already known by the professionals in that field (APA). The downside to peer reviews like many reviews there is an opportunity for bias (APA). That is why the process of peer-reviewing is so In-depth and requires an important level of professionalism (APA).
Certain sources are very well known for not being reliable, the most popular being Wikipedia. Wikipedia is known as an unreliable source because anyone has access to change or put in false information without research and evidence behind it (Purdue OWL). This creates a huge likelihood of bias. Propaganda and promotion that is favored by the people putting in the content. The same possibilities are in ads and news content (Purdue OWL). This is why it is best to use education-based information from reliable databases (Purdue OWL).
