WR121 Fisher: Getting Started

Research Support for WR121

This guide is designed to help students in Joshua Fisher's WR121 class find suitable sources for the investigative report assignment. Use the tabs across the top to navigate to what you need depending on what assignment option you choose. Here are examples investigative reporting for each of the assignment options:

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What makes a source good?

There is no magic, easy answer to this question!  There isn't a rule we can use to say "if this is true, the source will be good".  Instead we want to think about the questions we should be asking ourselves when deciding whether to use a source like:

  • Is this source relevant to my topic or is it just that my keywords happened to show up in it?
  • Is this information current?
  • Who wrote it?  What are their qualifications?  Can I confirm their credentials somehow?
  • Is it published?  By whom?  How much scrutiny was this subjected to before it was published?
  • What is the reputation of the publication?
  • Who funded this information and why?
  • Are the sources that the author used to make their argument included/cited?  If not, does the author tell you where they got the information clearly enough that you could track it down?
  • What is the bias or perspective of the author?  Which points of view are they representing?  Which points of view are they leaving out?

Remember, the sources we choose to cite form the basis of our own credibility.  If we cite junk, our reader is justified in thinking our argument is junk.

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