When doing research, it is essential for a student to make sure that the sources used are credible, strong, and reliable. Students have to provide evidence and support their information, especially when it comes to statistical data, hard numbers, or unknown facts. Unfortunately, if one refers to an unreliable or weak source, the credibility of their own research also reduces. However, there are several signs or “red flags” that allow me to spot a non-preferred source and avoid using it. For example, if an article does not have a reference list and never mentions any other authors and organizations, this is the sign for me not to cite it in my work.
There are a couple of reasons to avoid a resource that does not have its own references. First of all, it is impossible to be certain that the facts and data mentioned in it are not corrupted or distorted (UTEP Connect, 2017). Typically, when an author provides accurate statistics, they are also interested in allowing readers to verify the information in the primary source and therefore include links in their articles (UTEP Connect, 2017). Thus, a missing list of sources hints at the text being unreliable or based on opinion rather than fact.
Further, the second reason is related to plagiarism – a rather negative concept in research. It is evident that an article cannot be written by its author without an additional search for information. Therefore, in case facts are paraphrased, but the initial source is not mentioned, it is possible to say that the researcher plagiarizes other authors and does not give credit to their ideas and findings (Lee, 2020, para. 2). Moreover, as stated by Lee (2020), “a source that has no citations at all, or those that present non-verifiable links (broken, in-active links, or links that lead to unrelated material) as evidence should be an immediate red flag” (para. 3). Therefore, when doing my research, I avoid such articles in order not to promote made-up information or plagiarism.
References
Lee, H. G. (2020). How to distinguish between reliable and unreliable sources online. Inkspire. Web.
UTEP Connect. (2017). 4 ways to differentiate a good source from a bad source. UTEP. Web.