Evaluating your research quality

The decision regarding choosing the right source is based on the criteria that you feel fits the research purpose. Examining the research data through every scope is not practical due to very obvious reasons. To ensure time bound assessment, certain general criteria can be kept in mind to assess how good is the data collected, its usefulness in terms of end objectives and identify areas where it can be improved upon. 

Quality

It has become a general consensus that information that is widely available is less reliable and has a greater chance of being plagiarized since it is available for all. Scholarly articles and books published after carrying out the requisite amount of study ask for certain subscriptions and payments to gain access to the data. This, in itself, is the consideration they ask for, in return for the improved quality that they provide. This makes such sources a unique avenue to be used as a source of information. Further, a quality assurance check entails certain other characteristics like:

•       the sample being representative of the target population under study
•       the right tools being used to translate the data into a presentable format without causing any distortion
•       uncovering insights and collecting data that is not previously known
•       usefulness of the data collected in formulating the correct and informed decisions

Accuracy

Accuracy is simple the practice of stating what is correct. The degree of familiarity with a topic of study determines the level of accuracy that can be predicted by a person. An expert in a field of physics, would be able to identify any discrepancy in calculations of a motion study problem due to his pre-requisite knowledge.

The accuracy of a research gets judged by the source or the mode chosen to extract the data. The more reliable the source, higher will be the accuracy of the dataset. For example: The study of the consumption habits of middle income families can be done accurately only when the sample selected for the study includes the earning and buying members, who are actually responsible for the purchasing decisions within the house. Further, their responses must be unbiased and representative of the entire middle income population under the purview of such a study.

Relevance

Relevance refers to how well a source or mode is able to correlate with your specific needs. It is not necessary that all your research needs gets satisfied from a single source. There will be differences in terms of what you’re looking for and what a particular source has to offer. It’s how well the relevant content from all these sources gets compiled to fulfill your peculiar needs. Picking out relevant sources is always more about a deep and patient analysis rather than opting for convenience. The number of sources you have to look for a thorough analysis to take place depends on the nature of the topic, past records and studies centred around similar themes and the kind of research that you’re looking to carry out.

Introduction

The introduction to a source provides an overview of the basic approach that the writer has adopted while examining an issue. The perspective from which the source chooses to present the issue will serve a lot in terms of adding value to the research. It even supplements such perspective with the interests, reasons and information that pushed the author to study this particular issue. This serves as a valuable background information which generalises the flow of the source and how it proceeds to arrive at it’s end conclusions.

Table of contents

Table of contents provides the blocks under which the entire topic has been studied. In order to concentrate on the relevant aspects, it’s better to understand the bifurcations and skip studying the areas that do not have a role to play in your particular research coverage to maximize efficiency.

Reference lists

Examine the work put in by the author by gauging the credibility of the sources used by the author themselves. Understand what the sources used by the author say and how that content is utilised by the author to deliver upon their own ideas. The underlined idea is that the number and quality of sources and references used by the author will determine how solid is your source, which will ultimately go on to translate into the end result that your arrive upon. Make sure the limited number of previous works you use as references are solid and help you build a strong, unbiased and comprehensive overview of your research idea.