Discussion Reponse

Respond to discussion question in APA format. 

Is it Credible?

Examining whether a source is credible was the main topic discussed in my previous course “Scholarly Writing”. There are several ways to determine if a source of information, including a website, is credible. Specifically, we can determine if an internet source is credible based on the “authorship”, the authors level of expertise. If the author has an advanced degree in the subject which they are discussing then it is safe to say you can trust their information. It is also important to make sure that the author doesn’t have a specific point of view that favors one side over another, that they are simply discussing the general topic and sharing evidence based, un-biased information. One can also judge a websites credibility based on its “publishing body”, meaning that it is structured in a professional manner. It contains well-marked headers and footers, a proper web-site should also have links on each page to return a person to the homepage or send a message to the webmaster. A website is also credible if you can delete all “extra” information in the URL after the server name and return to the homepage. A website is also credible based on its “currency”. Older websites can lack more recent information on a topic, if it hasn’t been “pruned” or updated recently then it may not be a suitable source of information, and may not be used for an academic paper (John Hopkins. 2019).

I personally used this link when I was researching information on Saudi Arabia for my SLP1 paper: https://www.international.gc.ca/cil-cai/country_insights-apercus_pays/ci-ic_sa.aspx?lang=eng

I believe that this site is credible for three reasons. First of all, it was published by a government agency site and it was published in 2018, very recently. Secondly, it discusses cultural information on the country you search for, examining its customs from a local perspective as well as their own. The different social customs are separated by headers and footers for specific sections, creating a professional published body. And there are links on the webpage to return to the home screen, contact the webmaster, etc. Also, if you delete all information after “gc.ca/” it takes you to the homepage.

Reference List

Global Affairs Canada. (2018). Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from https://www.international.gc.ca/cil-cai/country_insights-apercus_pays/ci-ic_sa.aspx?lang=eng 

John Hopkins (2019). Evaluating Information. John Hopkins Sheridan Libraries. Retrieved from http://guides.library.jhu.edu/c.php?g=202581&p=1334872 

* Needs to be 250-275 words with one scholarly source