# data[].attributes.body
Evaluating academic sources is a difficult subject to write a blog post on. The purpose and methods speak for themselves. As discussed in this week’s learning material the three key areas to establish the validity of a source are Authority, Currency and Purpose. The TRAAP method discussed in

Evaluating information. (2017). John Hopkins Sheridan Libraries & University Museums. Retrieved August 10, 2017, from http://guides.library.jhu.edu/evaluate

Authority

·         Is it in a peer-reviewed scholarly journal?

o    ‘Peer-reviewed’ means that a source has undergone the review and scrutiny of a review board of colleagues in the author's field. They evaluate this source as part of the body of research for a particular discipline and make recommendations regarding its publication in a journal, revisions prior to publication, or, in some cases, reject its publication.

·         Who published the source?

o    Is it a university press, professional society or large reputable publisher?

o    Is it from a government agency?

o    Is the source self-published?

o    What is the purpose of the publication?

·         Where does the information in the source come from?

o    Does the information appear to be valid and well-researched, or is it questionable and unsupported by evidence?

o    Is there a list of references or works cited?

o    What is the quality of these references (Have these criteria been applied to its sources)?

·         Who is the author?

o    What are the author's credentials (educational background, past writing, experience) in this area?

o    Have you seen the author's name cited in other sources or bibliographies?

·         Is the content a first-hand account or is it being retold?

o    Primary sources are the raw material of the research process; secondary sources are based on primary sources.

Currency

·         When was the source published?

·         Is the source current or out of date for your topic?

o    In some disciplines, material can become outdated very swiftly. In others, texts can continue to be considered valuable for longer. You should search for additional texts on the topic to find related sources, sources in which this source is cited, and sources that cite this source in order to get a stronger picture of its intellectual relevance and value.

Purpose

·         What is the author’s intention?

o    Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?

o    Is the author's point of view objective and impartial?

o    Is the language free of emotion-rousing words or bias?

·         Is the publication organized logically?

o    Are the main points clearly presented?

o    Do you find the text easy to read?

o    Is the author repetitive?

# data[].attributes.headline
Week 9 Ethical Principles of Academic Work

# data[].attributes.subject
Week 9 Ethical Principles of Academic Work

# data[].attributes.body
Understanding the consequences and seriousness concerning plagiarism and the practicality of avoiding such an issue by implementing the three strategies for avoiding it; quoting, paraphrasing and summarising. It at least seems on the surface to be achievable with relative ease; however I have noticed in my last report (not this course) with turnitin I had noticed it had picked up some similarity between my report and that of other student studying at other universities and was therefore asking me to reference their work even though I had never seen it and I challenge anyone to construct a report on Mental Health without using the words holistic approach……… Mental Health. I feel that there should be some discerning and sense taken into consideration when marking and academic citing is taken into account, especially if the turnitin match is 1% or less than 1% should we still be required to reference it? And if that source is apparently from another student paper at another university (I do not understand how you would even come into contact with) should you then be required to reference it, and how would you reference it when you have not seen or read it in the first place nor are you able to access it through turnitin?  I had been picked up on this and quite harshly marked accordingly. This has really quite drastically and profoundly affected my willingness to continue to study. I will have to ask this of the lecturer and find out how to move forward with a better understanding.

# data[].attributes.body
Translating critical thinking into a well-structured argument could be quite difficult concept to grasp if we had not been given this opportunity to learn about looking more critically at the structure of the academic writing piece itself and then translating our thesis and concepts and how that contributes to the logical flow of the overall work.

I am sure as students we have all been guilty of one or more of the misconceptions of argument.

“... academic argument is not a fight or a debate … it is the articulation of a structured, reasoned position on a particular issue.”

# data[].attributes.body
Fortunately my learning style has always followed some of the main steps in Critical Thinking concepts. I have always learnt by questioning; constantly asking for details and specifics, and that every frustrating but why? Much to the frustration of many I suppose.

What I have learnt this week is the need to be more aware of the persuasiveness and manipulative intent behind the resources that I am using. I can see how it would become easy to use a few resources and let that persuade your theory. It has become clear the need for intentionally looking to sabotage your own theory or thesis.

It has also become clear as to some of the criticism I received in my report for Working in Community Services. I will struggle, I feel to find a balance between over persuading or manipulating the audience and not making my arguments clear enough. I have always aired on the side of the assumption that the audience of these reports are intelligent, critical thinkers and thus have fallen in to the trap of not explaining my thought process clearly and somewhat blindly assumed that my audience would somehow just know what point I am trying to make. It has been made clear to me through looking at critical thinking and other academic processes behind academic writing it is more complex a process than I had ever imagined and this is a skill I will need to master.

Deakin University. (n.d). Critical thinking. Viewed September 15, 2016, from http://www.deakin.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/51222/critical-thinking.pdf

# data[].attributes.body
Allowing adequate time to research for an assignment then checking the credibility of the resources will be difficult, but then if you are interpreting and evaluating these opinions in order to give an ‘educated’ opinion then extending this research into the academic resource is valid.

The Monash Credibility Checklist goes through in depth the types of information we are needing to establish whilst looking for credible sources. Establishing who an author is and there previous work, opinions and credibility in a chosen field is a new concept as to researching an assignment topic. Although researching the author does make complete sense if using those opinions and conclusions to base an argument on.

Where I have struggled in the past is point 5 of the Learning material

To show your ability to integrate material from a range of sources:

In academic writing you do not simply list what you have read - your bibliography or reference list does that. Your writing needs to show how you have grouped and categorised information from a wide range of sources and organised this information around central points, arguments or sections.

However working on this with some of the strategies around critical thinking and researching I anticipate this will get better with time.

# data[].attributes.body
I cannot believe my ignorance when it comes to the academic structure of an essay, prior to this learning topic. Comparing and contrasting the different styles of essays and their complexity.

Analytical Essay- discuss, analyse, investigate, explore or review- breaking into structure and being balanced where possible

Argumentative Essay- take a position; present opposing views of an argument, present the position taken second with stronger evidence

Interpretative Essay- given data (ie. Statistics, scenario, case study) asked to given an explanation, recommendations or possible solution etc.

Comparative Essay- include compare, compare and contrast or differentiate questions maybe then asked to give recommendations about the suitability of what you’re comparing

Problem and solution Essay- questions often require you to structure your answer in several parts. An example may be to ask you to investigate a problem and explore a range of solutions. You may also be asked to choose the best solution and justify your selection, allow space for this in your essay

Cause and effect Essay- which ask you to state or investigate the effects or outline the causes of the topic. Can be structured with the effects working back to causes or the causes leading to their effects- sometimes asking for an overall picture of the effects on the community.

Researching for upcoming assignment I have come across How to Write Better Essays Bryan Greetham in it he describes the 5 stages

1.       Interpretation of the question

2.       Research

3.       Planning

4.       Writing

5.       Revision

These differ slightly from those mentioned in our study material being
analysing the essay question,

researching the topic,

taking a position on the question,

planning your essay,

drafting and redrafting,

editing the final draft. I have questioned the value to learning academic language as a separate subject and also first (for me). It is obvious it haves it advantages being afforded the knowledge prior to taking on the rest of my courses.

# data[].attributes.body
Referencing seems to be a straight forward concept, however I possibly could have used this lesson prior to submitting the assignment for my other unit Working in Community Services. I have known about APA6 referencing for some time however needing to reference statistical graphs and when this information was retrieved I was not aware of.

With the past assignment (as previously mentioned) I made the fatal mistake of not getting my references together as I worked; this is not a mistake I will be making again. I have also noticed when downloading a section or a chapter of a particular book/journal from the Library it does not contain the reference material required in order to reference correctly, another mistake I will not make again.

I have learnt a few lessons from the previous assignment I wish not to make again and the reason I am mentioning it in this blog post is I feel it an appropriate forum. The last mistake I made with this assignment was over researching and then getting writer’s block and suffering from an unclear thought process when trying to write the speech. I will be implementing some of the critical thinking processes I have researched in preparation of the assignment for this subject such as making notes, highlighting anomalies in writing, making questions and connections between other writings read, making thought maps and assignment plans.

I have saved a copy of the APA referencing guide and going forward I will ensure it is constantly and consistently on hand.

# data[].attributes.body
Academic Language has been somewhat of a frightening subject, and a concept I am not sure yet I have grasped. The most anxiety being caused of the many rules and now needing to follow and the way in which those learnings and ideas are expressed is also a further complication.

Not being able to use (or limiting the use) of pronouns when needing to explain what I have personally learned I believe will be my greatest challenge. The clarification of the different writing styles; essays, literature review, short writing questions etc. and how each is structured will be invaluable to continuing these studies if I hope to become successful.

What I have found interesting this week is that the subject readings appear to be based on Academic Writing: Process and Product Johnson, A. (2016), quiet closely?

In preparation research to the assignment rather than the academic writing doctrine I have found it a far more interesting topic of thought the philosophy of teaching Academic Writing and the method in which we are learning Academic Writing. Researching for the upcoming assignment has somewhat served to only intimidate further. Realising that these journal entries themselves are being marked and calculated against my final mark for this subject has now made me a little self-conscious about the style and grammatical correctness.

# data[].attributes.body
The eLearning module has been very informative and has provided a basis of new programs and applications I will now be able to use and understand. I have considered myself quiet knowledgeable as far as technology was concerned because of my administration background and previous study endeavours; however the new generation of collaborative learning and sharing platforms I am sure will prove most useful.

Throughout my previous studies  I have always managed to do them in a quiet solitary manner. As normally a social person I have struggled with this and always longed for a more collaborative learning environment. I feel it will be more useful to have a community I am able to bounce ideas off and people to discuss new learning material to clarify new information with.

Going forward having that community will be invaluable and I will endeavour to engage and utilise it better.

# data[].attributes.body
This weeks learning and activities for the most part have made me examine my own learning and study habits. Specifically the reading Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning, Sharan. B Merriam and also the topic of Discussion Forum 1 where it was asked what we feel our greatest challenge to embarking on our study journey would be? I have thought about both and examined my own personal habits and learning style and concluded I can be both very independent in my quest for knowledge if I find the subject is of interest and like most (I suspect) quiet teacher dependent if I do not.

As I move through this endeavour of self-directed learning I will need to keep this in mind. This brings me to my thoughts about the discussion forum; my greatest challenge on this journey will be consistency and motivation. I have always insisted it was my "artistic temperament" that has seen me flutter from one thing to another becoming bored quickly and distracted easily. I also as you can imagine struggle with rigid study plans or any draconian routine.

Now understanding some of the background about pedagogy, andragogy and populous views held around self-directed learning it has opened my eyes to the value of study plans and how they can help me with my more negligent study whims.

I know as I continue through these studies this lesson and self examination will be invaluable to achieving success. I have been able to implement KPI driven success throughout my career and now it is a matter of translating that into my personal endeavours.