Library

Are all sources reliable?

Most of you will have grown up taking for granted that information is at your fingertips via the internet. We can get answers to many of our questions within seconds, but the biggest challenge is navigating the multiple voices and resources to reach reliable conclusions. 

As Psychology students, we expect you to have a critical eye about what you read. Not all information is created equal: some is more reliable than others. This can be due to the quality or ‘rigour’ of the underlying research, the ‘peer review’ process (which describes how closely other people check completed research).

We are all human and this can lead to bias or agendas underlying what is researched, how it is researched, and how it is communicated to the public. Such agendas may be intentional or unintentional but almost certainly influence our views and thoughts.

All of this is worth thinking about when looking for trustworthy information. It is important that we choose credible sources of information so that what we communicate is as reliable as it can possibly be.

Tips on finding reliable sources:

Many different individuals and organisations publish their information, ideas and data for multiple purposes, and with many different agendas. It’s your job to interrogate every source that you use to evaluate its reliability, and to ensure that you’re aware of any potential bias (intentional or otherwise).

Here are some simple questions to ask:

  • Is this an academic source or not?
  • Who published/uploaded this information, and why?
  • Do they have any credentials to back up their authority on a subject?
  • Do they acknowledge the sources they used to create the information or form their opinions?
  • Did their publication have to go through a peer-review process? (Was it checked by other professionals for accuracy prior to publication?)

As you become more confident with using our library resources, both on campus and online, you’ll realise that the most valuable texts and databases to support your academic work are not found using Google, but through proficient use of library searches and, increasingly, the use of scientific journals.

You don’t need to agree with everything you read, but do look for material that is peer-reviewed and curated by subject experts. Why would you rely on Google’s to do the work when the real experts, who’ve spent years sifting through the existing literature before coming up with their own interpretations of a subject, are ready and waiting to show you the way?

Last modified: Wednesday, 14 August 2024, 3:38 PM