Source Skepticism Essay

The most important topic when conducting research is source skepticism. When I’m conducting research, I need to to keep in mind who is publishing the information, what authority the source has on the topic, and the credibility of the author. I found this topic interesting because prior to this class I took the first recommended “Google searches” as truth and didn’t search any deeper to find out how reliable the source was. Traditional newspapers, broadcast news, and mainstream websites focus mainly on reliability and credibility. While other forms of information will be published to garner profits through “clicks” and advertising, it’s important as a researcher to be able to differentiate between the two.

Another topic discussed was Creative Commons (CC), the purpose of a CC license is to give the creator the ability to give others the right to see, use, and build upon their own work. The creator can decide what licenses they want to apply to their content and this is important because the license(s) applied affect how you can use the content. For example, a “CC BY” licenses allow people to use and edit your

However, after learning about the vast amount of resources at the library, I believe the reference desk is a resource I need to use when conducting research. The reference desk is more than just a librarian at a desk it’s a professional researcher with a vast amount of knowledge that can help you find sources you didn’t even know the library had. When we discussed reference desk in class I didn’t you could make an appointment with someone specialized in a certain area of study. I was honestly a little upset when I learned this, because I realized that I could have utilized this research when conducting research last spring on the history of the University of Kansas, but this resource will be very helpful moving