The 3As of A+ Research
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The document outlines three key qualities to identify credible web sources: authority, applicability, and aim. It emphasizes the importance of evaluating the author's credibility, the relevance and accuracy of the information, and the clear purpose behind the content. The source recommends being cautious of biases and verifying the information against academic or government sites for reliability.
The 3As of A+ Research
- 1. 3A’s ofan A+ Web Source The web is an incredibly rich source of information that continues to grow daily. But, with so much information comes the problem of filtering out the unreliable and false to get to the most accurate, reliable, and credible web sources. This infographic will introduce you to three characteristics you can use to help you choose A+ sources of web-based information. A+ WEB SOURCE QUALITIES AUTHORITY APPLICABILITY AIM Who is the author? Is there an about section? How reliable is the information? How relevant is the content? How accurate is the info? How current is the info? What is the purpose? Is the author objective? Who is the site for? The web is a game of telephone. One person states an idea, another repeats it, commenting on, altering, or skewing that information. That process is repeated, hundreds, thousands, or millions of times. ?What is the best information? Many factors can affect a source’s credibility. Study your source carefully using the following three qualities, and you will be closer to credible web information. Authority An authoritative source provides you with background, contributor experience, affiliations, and sources of information. ApplicabilityA strong web source has applicability. This means that the information you find is relevant to the topic you are researching; also, the information you find there is accurate and currently useful. Chances are, no about section, no verifiable authority or credibility. Academic and government sources tend to be more authoritative. A site ending in .org is not necessarily credible. Look for signs of authority on the site. ABOUT i .EDU & .GOV .ORG? ! Is the site discussing opinion without fact? Is the information believable and supported by evidence? Is the information cited? Are the sources credible? Is the information reviewed for accuracy? Is there a clear creation date for the source? Based on the topic, is the source really current and up to date? RELEVANCY ACCURACY CURRENCY The final quality of an A+ web source is aim or purpose. A strong web source makes its purpose (to inform, to persuade, to entertain) clear and transparent.. Aim X Is the author’s goal clear? Is it to inform you? persuade you? sell you a product? Is the author an objective source of information? If not, does the author acknowledge and justify for bias? Who is the target audience for the source? Does the language used align with your target audience? PURPOSE BIAS AUDIENCE References Color palette: design-seeds.com Textures: Paper Fibers by Heliodor jalba; lined paper by gjermund gustavsen via subtlepatterns.com Icons: Nounproject.com Content: Georgetown University Library. "Research and Course Guides." Evaluating Internet Resources. Georgetown University Library, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013. <http://www.library.georgetown.edu/tutorials/research-guides/evaluating-internet-content>. Harvard University. "Evaluating Web Sources ." Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k70847&pageid=icb.page346375>. U of Berkeley. "Critical Evaluation of Resources." U of Berkeley Library. U of Berkeley, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http:// www.lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/evaluation.html>. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.