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The 4 Ws of Research

When you were in high school, you could easily coast with your research; in college, research becomes more involved. It is up to you, the college student, to dive into resources and evaluate the quality of the information. The importance of this grows beyond academia, as misinformation seeps into every corner of truth on the internet. With people proclaiming opinions as fact and everyone becoming self-designated experts, how do you find reliable sources online? Fortunately for the student, by answering the four Ws, they can better evaluate the reliability of a source.

Finding reliable sources takes effort.

When?


When was a source written? Many fields are subject to rapid changes in information, such as technology, controversies, and politics. In such instances, knowing when the source was written becomes a top priority. As for fields that don't update regularly, such as history and science, it is still important to check a source's creation date. These seemingly unchanging fields are still subject to revisions as more information comes to light.


When was a source written? Many fields are subject to rapid changes in information, such as technology, controversies, and politics. In such instances, knowing when the source was written becomes a top priority. As for fields that don't update regularly, such as history and science, it is still important to check a source's creation date. These seemingly unchanging fields are still subject to revisions as more information comes to light. If a source is outdated or doesn't have its date recorded, it might be unreliable.


Where?


Where did you find a source? It can be a trap to simply go to Wikipedia and call your research finished, but it isn't. Wikipedia is a good place to start looking for research; some cited materials in Wikipedia articles can be beneficial as sources, but regurgitating a Wikipedia article itself isn't research. For better resources for your topic, browse Google Scholar, which lets you find verified papers from a search query.


For websites, a good rule of thumb is that .org websites are more reliable than .com websites


"The .org top-level domain stands for “organization” and is primarily used for nonprofit websites such as NGOs, open source projects, charitable organizations and educational platforms. This extension was one of the original domains established in 1985, and is therefore perceived as stronger and more credible than newer alternatives" (Ricart, 2023).

Websites for schools and government use .edu and .gov respectfully and are considered authoritative sources for their fields.

Some Wiki articles source books in addition to websites.

Who?


Who is the author of the source? When researching, it can be easy to assume the author of a paper is credible, but you can't assume when researching. The internet has made tracking someone's online footprint easy, so learn about the author. If they wrote a paper or news article, what other articles or papers, if any, did they write? What does this author typically write about? Are there major biases present throughout their writings? If they are on social media, what do they say online? The answers to these questions might identify a poor source.


Why?


Why was this source created? While it would be nice to have sources written by unopinionated machines, the truth is that impressionable humans write them. The beliefs of a writer can commonly seep into their work, making the reader discover the author's intended understanding of the truth.


Sponsors can also dilute good writing, as some pieces get created to endorse a product or celebrity, making the piece more of an advertisement rather than journalism. On the matter, Author Brian Carroll said:


"If the information was paid for by a third party, it isn't credible because this 'sponsored content' is in service to some other agenda, usually a profit motive" (Carroll, 2014, p. 300).

Conclusion


As social media continues to become ever-present, the need for identifying the truth grows. While you may lose some points on your paper if you don't use accurate sources, you will face more serious consequences later in life if you cannot identify expert from amature; fact from fiction. To quote Carroll once more:


"Much of fake news builds on a kernel of truth, something truthfully reported at some time in the past. This kernel or lone fact then gets distorted in a cloud of mendacious claims created to serve some ulterior motive" (Carroll, 2014, p. 300)

Go on and research, using the four Ws as you go.


 

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