Top tips for research - part two

Here are more research and study tips from The Fife & Tayside Wider Access Forum:

Three: Who is the author? Can you trust him / her?

Another question to ask about your research sources is whether you can trust them. One aspect of that is whether the author is trustworthy. One way of testing this is to check the other things you are reading to find out whether other authors you h have been reading reference them?

Four: Why was it written? Who Was the Intended audience? What’s the author’s agenda?

Another test for whether you can trust an author is to ask whether they had hidden motives for what they were writing. That’s less likely with academic sources that have been reviewed by other academics before publication, but still not impossible.

Five: When was it written? And is it still up-to-date?

Some of the subjects you will study develop fast so how recently what you are reading was published is important to know. Is it still relevant? Are there new angles on the subject that you should also be finding out about?

Related articles: 
Top Tips For Research - part one

Top tips for research - part three 
Top tips for research - part four
 
Tops Tips For Note Taking In Lectures.