Essay On Credible Sources

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Using credible sources is a crucial part of the writing process; it allows authors to gain insight about the subject beforehand, and increases the accuracy of the given information. As a result of using credible sources in the base of a paper, writers can state their fresh opinion while still being in touch with the roots of a subject. This process is especially important for students because they need to write arguments for a wide variety of subjects. Therefore, students often rely on other sources to create trustworthy contents. In order to accomplish this, students need to acquire the necessary abilities to differentiate between credible and non-credible resources. Students can differentiate credible sources by paying attention to a few details, and by prioritizing scholarly sources

The level of expertise can be determined by looking at the author’s past research and education level. In addition, even if an author is an expert in the field ‘A’, that doesn’t qualify him/her to be a credible source in field ‘B’. Similarly, an author can have a PhD, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are credible in their field. For example, Andrew Wakefield, a former gastroenterologist and medical researcher, wrote a paper about a possible connection between MMR vaccines and Autism Spectrum Disorder in 1998 (445). Later, it was found that his research was inaccurate and did not support any pre-existing scientific evidence (Fiona 637). A student could potentially come across to Wakefield’s research and could be deceived into thinking that he is a credible source. However, if the student pays attention to his past controversies, she/he can easily recognize how untrustworthy his work was. Therefore, a student must pay attention to the author(s)’ expertise level, past research, and education level to determine if a source is credible and