Any researcher should now be able to use various methods to evaluate the text in question sensibly. Several steps help determine the value of the source in question. In this paper, two articles on the current popular topic of the COVID-19 virus are evaluated. The first article to consider is Bai, Yan, et al. “Presumed asymptomatic carrier transmission of COVID-19.”
This article explores the distribution of the virus and raises the question of whether the infection can spread by people without symptoms (Bai, Yan, et al.). The second subject of research is a blog post on the same topic. In the text of this blog, Rettner writes about the asymptomatic spread of the virus, citing various citations and statistics as arguments.
The evaluation of articles begins, first of all, with an assessment of their relevance concerning the selected topic. Both sources are suitable for studying since they talk about the epidemic of coronavirus and the mechanisms of its spread. However, the next criteria are the place of publication, and here the blog entry on Live Science is undoubtedly inferior to the article in the specialized Journal of the American Medical Association.
It can also be noted that the blog entry is somewhat more recent, albeit slightly, for only a few weeks. A specialized article has a list of references, thanks to which it is possible to verify the relevance of the study (Bai, Yan, et al.). At the same time, the blog entry refers to each quote with hyperlinks, which also allows finding the sources of words.
The article and the blog are texts that are different from each other in context. While the report by Bai, Yan, et al. is scholarly work done by specialists, a Rettner blog post is more aimed at a broad audience, giving an overview. Because of this, the blog entry is deprived of the structure familiar to academic articles.
However, this entry is still useful because it provides links to all the materials and quotes used on the blog, has a definite structure and clear text. Thus, the choice of the source depends, first of all, on the direction of the study, whether it is a survey or an in-depth academic study. In the second case, naturally, a professional medical article from Bai, Yan, et al. is a much more preferable option due to the full adherence to the academic canons.
Works Cited
Bai, Yan, et al. “Presumed asymptomatic carrier transmission of COVID-19.” Jama, 2020. Web.
Rettner, Rachael. “COVID-19 spread is fueled by ‘stealth transmission’.” Live Science. 2020. Web.