I'm currently doing my bio depth study, and it involves data analysis of secondary sources. Part of the marking criteria says I need to talk about the Accuracy, Reliability and Validity of my data, but i'm unsure how I would go about doing this for secondary sources.
Cheers!
Hey, nickclarke!
(This is the source I'll use to show you some examples of analysing secondary data:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4452068/)
When assessing the
reliability of data from a secondary source, you want to answer 2 main questions (plus 1 bonus one):
-
What is the credibility of the source? (Who wrote the information? Do they have the authority or expertise in this area?)
E.g.
This source is very credible. The author, Magid H. Amer, is a highly qualified medical professional who specialises in hematology and oncology and has over 21 years of experience in his field. He currently works as an oncologist in North Warren, PA, USA. The source itself was published by the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine and is on a government website, which further enhances its credibility.-
Has the information from the source been consistently reinforced in other sources that you have viewed?E.g.
Yes, this information has been frequently reinforced and reiterated on other sources that discuss the applications of gene therapy in regard to treating cancer. ...such as...(if you want)
Therefore, this source is very reliable as it has been created by a credible author with a lot of expertise in this area of research, and the information provided is consistent with a lot of other sources on the topic of using gene therapy to treat cancer.- Bonus: Is the data presented in the source based on repeatable processes?
When assessing the
accuracy of data from a secondary source, discuss whether the information provided in that source is similar to the information presented in peer-reviewed (reputable) scientific journals/sources. Pretty much the qualitative equivalent of comparing experimentally obtained data to that which is scientifically accepted.
When assessing the
validity of data from a secondary source, you should be stating whether the information that you obtained from that source
relates to your hypothesis or the problem that you are investigating.
E.g.
This source is valid. The information provided by the source directly relates to the problem being investigated as it provides me with detailed evidence that will help inform my judgement as to whether gene therapy should be utilised in the treatment of cancer.Also
include something about the reliability and accuracy of the source as well when discussing validity.
Hopefully that helps, let me know if you have any more questions.
Home
Help
Search
Login
