Authoritative Sources for Academic Research: A Banned List

Abstract

[Name] In academia, scholars value facts and truth. Information, therefore, is only credible in academia after it has been fact-checked by experts in that field (peer-reviewed), and/or supported by ample primary research before finally being approved by the objective editor(s) of a trusted publication. While some qualitative research studies are comprised of opinions/experiences, those opinions are collected from a large enough sample size and meet numerous other conditions to ensure accuracy in trends, and the conclusions drawn by the researchers are substantiated by data. In other words, in this world of vast digital information, there are numerous sources that are either false or partially false and therefore inappropriate in higher education. For this course, we will use academic databases; the below sources are “banned” (note, however, some exceptions): Most websites from Google, especially sites ending in “.com.” Often, sites ending in .gov are usable. Sites ending in .org may be biased. Blogs (if you’re unsure, scan the URL for the word “blog”). Wikipedia, or ANY site with the word “wiki” in the URL or title, as this means anyone can contribute to the source regardless of credentials. Social media posts, Tweets, Youtube videos, etc. (UNLESS you are researching social media and use these as examples, but you should synthesize them with scholarly research). Articles/websites with no author, UNLESS it is a government-sponsored site like the Department of Education (ending in .gov), or a research-driven organization like the American Cancer Society. Unpublished manuscripts or student papers, but dissertations are okay. Media/News (unless you must reference current events, in which case, choose those considered to have low partisan bias: BBC, NPR, PBS, Reuters, Bloomberg, The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, etc.). Satirical news sites or “fake” news sources (The Onion, Breaking-CNN.com, Globalresearch.ca, abcnews.com.co, etc) Other: