Strategies to gathering credible sources of information

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   Deeper investigation is a crucial ability for journalists, especially in the information era. It takes practice and good habits, just like other aspects of the industry such as interviewing. And once you've established an effective pattern for obtaining data, it will pay off.

1. Plan carefully on what you are searching for

People always need reliable information, but sometimes a lot of information is unreliable. When you are searching for information from the internet or social media. You need to understand and find the meaning carefully. You need to kick out and move on.

Here are some techniques:

1.Vary Your Search Engine

2. Use specific keywords

3. Simplify your search term 

4. Remove unhelpful words 

5.Avoid Search Pitfalls

2. Use Bull’s-Eye Search and Ballpark search 

Everyone intends to find relevant information to a certain topic but they find it hard to do so, because there is a lot of information and some of it is a little different from the facts or even completely different. In order to find the information that relate to one another, there are two types of techniques that will assist you to get the information

• The first technique is bull's eyes search, this technique allows the people to focus on a specific information and skip the unnecessary information that the writer has included without. Without being distracted or confused while finding the information. 

• The second technique is ballpark search. This technique is completely different from the bull's eyes search because it doesn't need us to focus on a specific topic but the general. Moreover, we can search whatever we want on the internet, book, tv, or even radio to find new knowledge.

3. Evaluate the internet sources

There are six criteria that you should consider and apply when you are evaluating any internet sites in order to get the right information that you’re seeking for.

1. Authority:

• Is it clear enough who is responsible for the contents of the page? Who is the author? 

• Is it a person or an organization such as government agencies, nonprofit organizations or a corporation?

• What is the author’s occupation, educational background and experience in that field that he/she is writing

2. Accuracy:

• Is the information well researched? Are there any citations or references?

• Can you identify any of the information in independent sources or from your own knowledge or experience?

• Is the information free of spelling or grammatical errors?

3. Objective:

• Does the source contain opinions or facts?

• Is the information presented in the source of objective or subjective? Does the information promote a political or religious view?

• Is advertising content clearly labeled?

4. Currency:

• When was the information published?

• When the page was first placed on the Web?

• Is current information required?

5. Coverage:

• Is the information successfully addressed with clear arguments and adequate support?

• Does the work update other sources, prove other materials you have read, or add any other new information?

• Is the target audience appropriate for your needs?

6. Appearance:

• Does the site look well organized so that you can understand the information easily?

• Does the information look academic or professional?

• Do the links work properly? 

4. Avoid the confirmation bias behavior

Confirmation bias is the tendency to gather evidence that confirms pre-existing expectations, generally by highlighting, or pursuing supporting evidence while ignoring or omitting to seek contrary evidence. When data confirms their own opinions, confirmation bias can alter how people absorb information and encourage them to stop seeking it out, leading to prejudice and preconceived notions that are not founded on logic or facts. People must overcome confirmation bias in order to obtain credible information, which means they must seek opposing viewpoints and be open-minded in order to analyze the information they are gathering.

In general, finding information can be difficult since some of it is unreliable. As a result, it is critical that we remain vigilant at all times.