Writing, no doubt, is a challenging task, but researching for the same is difficult. It is why students need thesis help. If you are confused about finding the authentic source for your study, this is the right place. So, let us begin with learning what a credible source is:
What is a Credible Source?
A credible source is a source that is created by an expert in a particular discipline and is free of errors and bias. These sources have a lot of pieces of evidence for a topic. Numerous references are available, and selecting one from these is challenging. So let us begin with learning various types of sources:
Types of Sources
There are three types of sources used to conduct research are mentioned below:
Primary
These sources represent the raw information or data that do not include anyone else’s additional research or analysis. In other words, these sources are the records of the events that took place or the evidence described or happened without any commentary or interpretation. In primary sources, the information is displayed or shown for the first time after happening. These display discoveries, original thinking, and new information.
Examples
Scholarly articles, thesis, dissertations, government reports, original photographs, artwork, speech, memos, letters, conference proceedings, autobiographies, diaries, interviews, and more.
Secondary
These sources are the most commonly used in all types of research for a thesis paper. These resources offer a restatement or an analysis of the primary sources. In addition, they also try to explain or describe the primary sources. These sources work to summarise, interpret or add value to the primary ones.
Example
Edited works, biographies, textbooks, books, articles, research works, literary criticism, interpretation, review of law and legislation, commentaries, political analysis, and more.
Tertiary
These sources analyse and compile both primary and secondary sources together. These sources have a rule that they represent a synthesis of data. But, they are not credited to a specific individual. These sources index, organize, compile or digest all the other sources. Some reference materials can be considered tertiary sources when they have the motive of listing information.
Example
Dictionaries or encyclopedias, fact books, Wikipedia, almanacks, guidebooks, handbooks, bibliographies, manuals, textbooks, abstracting sources, and more.
After getting along with the types, move ahead to learn how to find these:
How To Identify The Credibility Of a Source?
A credible source should be:
- Current and up-to-date
- Relevant to the research
- Written by a trusted author
- Properly cited
- Written in an unbiased way
Bonus: Frequent Thesis Paper References
Scholarly Publications
These are one of the most popular types of sources at present. While using these, you should consider that they must have “peer-reviewed” mentioned beside them. It is something that many courses require for grading purposes. It means that the references mentioned should be reviewed by your fellow students to avoid fake publications.
Popular Scientific Sources
This source consists of articles that are written by professional guest writers or journalists that aim at the general public. In other words, these documents are not created by the researchers, but they are still accepted as credible. In addition, they have an easy-to-understand language that anyone can interpret.
Conferences Compilations
Although these sources are not so common, they are good for exploring the compilations of papers that represent scientific conferences. These sources are not always reviewed, and you need to be careful. If you get access to your institution’s scientific conference, you should check the available databases.
Where To Find These Sources
Research Database
You can search for the sources using search engines such as Google Scholar. It provides a wide range of search functions to find the most accurate sources. If you want to research for a particular thing, you must include the title or the name of the author. On the other hand, if you are searching for relevant sources, you can use the keywords.
– Google Scholar
It is an academic search engine to find relevant articles and books. It has a “Cited by” feature that will help you to see the numbers of times a source has been cited. Through this, you can know the importance and credibility of that particular source.
– Boolean Operators
These can help you to expand or narrow down your research. These are the words or the symbols like OR, AND, and NOT which you can use to include or exclude the keywords.
Library Resources
Other than online resources, your library has helpful ones like journals, encyclopedias, books, newspapers, and more. Moreover, you must be careful about the sources you will be consulting. You can also find related books in your library database, which allows you to explore the catalog with the most relevant keyword.
Tips To Find Good Research Sources
Newspapers And Magazines
Magazines and newspapers of that particular area or region where your study is based are so helpful. These will provide you with all the related events and the problem faced by the people there and the solutions. These things you can use to conduct or analyse the research for your thesis.
Search Engine Run
You should begin by searching or browsing on Google or any other search engine. Start searching for things related to your thesis topic and discover the options. It will also enable you to explore something you would never expect.
Visit The Local Library
You cannot find everything through online sources, it can be because of the tricks you might not know for research. In such cases, visiting the library can be so useful. It is the reason students find the research process challenging and get help from thesis writing services.
Online Scholarly Databases
The online databases will provide you with access to numerous research studies and articles written on the same keyword as yours. Doing this will give you various options to choose from things related to your interest.
Add String To Keywords
To find a source online, you can add the words like “analysis”, “research paper” and “PDF” with your original keyword. These strings will help you to narrow down the process. The search engine will refine the search query and you will have only the related options to use.
Wrapping Up
It was all about finding a credible source for the research of your thesis paper. This write-up has it all, from what a credible source to how and where to find it. In addition, it also discussed the types of sources available. Even after this, if you have any issue, do not hesitate to seek thesis help.
