The following is a simple checklist for deciding whether particular material should be used. You need to use
Quality resources that will be respected and recognised as reliable and authoritiative by those reading your research.
This quick checklist will guide you to making the correct choice about which material to use:
Be discerning
With the current level of output in Academic, and the wide range of open access sources available to researchers, there is generally a plethora of
research material available
Check the date of publication
You may find the perfect research, but more recent research may overturn its findings. Ensuring your research is up to date in the field is always
essential. The importance of recency may differ depending on the topic. Some topics, for example, AI are constantly changing and even research from
as recent as 6 months ago may be out of date.
Try to be as up-to-date as possible in your reading
For the reasons above, you should always keep up to date in your reading. This will prevent you from rehashing old theories that are no longer
supported in the field, and well as be aware of new theories and research, and who the authoritative writers are in the field.
Include in your research any seminal writers in the field.
There will always be seminal, authoritative writers in any field, and it is normal to reference them in a given work.
Check the credentials of the authors
Simply finding a research work that matches your research need isn't enough. You need to check the authroty of the writer. Do they have a researcher
profile you can look at? What is their current position, and at what institution? What is their past activity?
Read the account of the research
Make sure the steps and details of the research you are using for your work is understood, so you can ensure it is relevant and applicable to your own
research.
Try to be critical in your reading
Avoid choosing research simply because it is convenient. Choose research from the best sources and most authoritative writers.
Examine the validity of the research
Make sure the research has a large enough samples size, the author doesn't have a conflict of interest and check any other
Consider the findings of the research and the conclusions drawn from the research
Look for the results and finding in the research, and in particular where it may have been discussed by other authoritative authors. What was the
analysis or conclusion of the research?
Consider the substance of the contribution the work makes to the academic debate in the field
Looks to see how the work has been considered by the field, if the work has been referenced or considered by other authors. Have other writers
contradicted the research or found it flawed?
