Introduction to Academic English

Lecture 5: Choosing the right type of sources

Choosing the Right Type of Sources

Orientation Task

Decide which of the following sources of information might be usable as referenced evidence for a
college essay. Answer Yes, No or Depends, giving reasons. The first is done for you

Expository essay -
Source Usable? Reasons
Newspaper Depends It depends on many factors such as the quality of the newspaper, the
article writer, the sources of information, the purpose, and what the bias
(politics) of the newspaper is. Generally, the shorter the article is, the
lower the quality is.
Government or Statistics and politics are OK for showing the impacts of a social /
NGO Report environment phenomenon - but sometimes info could still be biased .

Book on a Such monographs are ideal ( even better if it’s recent ) . Older reference
specific subject might not have the latest knowledge

School textbook Too general ( unless you are writing about school textbook )
Mostly not
Academic Best source for college essay . Latest knowledge and peer-reviewed by
Journal another scholar

Wikipedia
Anyone can edit the content.
Photograph Only appropriate for some specific disciplines, could be misleading .
Could also be photoshopped or deepfake .
Blog Usually opinion-based medium and written by non-specialists

Website Anyone can publish them and even anonymously

Presentation on Could be TED talks or speeches given by professor , but they are not as
YouTube reliable as their published work , use Google Scholar instead to refer to their
work

For this course, you must use only academic journal articles, academic books and unbiased NGO or
government reports and you must use academic journal articles because this is academic-level
reading.

Reading Selectively
At the undergraduate level, in almost all disciplines, the assessment includes either a written report or the
essay. These essays do not express your own new ideas. They rely on evidence from expert sources.
Finding and reading these sources (a process called secondary research) can be time-consuming, given the
large volume of texts available. Your lecturer may provide you with a recommended reading list, but you
will usually be expected to find your own sources. To produce a good essay (or presentation) in the time
available, you must read selectively. You must only use sources which pass the CRAP test.

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 Introduction to Academic English
Lecture 5: Choosing the right type of sources

The CRAP Test: Currency, Relevance, Authority, Purpose

The CRAP test helps you distinguish sources that are appropriate for academic use (and for shaping your
knowledge about the world) from those that are, well, crap.
Task 1

a) Match the criteria to their descriptions, using lines

Currency Does the information relate directly to your topic? Don’t assume that a text is
relevant simply because its title appears similar to your essay topic, or because
How valuable/ useful is the source ?
your google search says that it is. Western sources may not apply to Hong Kong
issues; a book titled ‘The Smartphone Bible’ may be too general for an essay on
‘smartphone addiction’.
Has it been outdated

Relevance Why was it written? It may be written to inform you accurately and impartially,
but may also be written to titillate, persuade or mislead you; getting you to
support or buy a particular product, publication or organization. BEWARE:
some forms of bias are very cleverly hidden!

Authority Is the person who wrote it an expert on the topic? Some authors, bloggers and
journalists can write passionately and persuasively about a topic, but they will
How not have the full understanding that a qualified specialist has. Generally, these
creditable
is the experts’ writings will be chosen by good quality book publishers, journals,
person newspapers and web domains – so look for these too. AVOID sources that do
you are
quoting
not disclose the name of the person or organization that wrote it, and simplistic
from sources with click-bait titles like: Pros & Cons of… Top 10… Reasons you
MUST...

Purpose When was it published, posted, or updated? It may be out-of-date regarding

current issues or new technologies (BUT old ‘primary’ sources may be very
useful for subjects like history!)

Adapted from: http://libguides.csuchico.edu/LiteratureReviews?p=2822716]

b) Assume that you are given the following essay topic. Circle the instruction words and underline the
content words.

Outline the main factors influencing career choice among secondary school students in Hong
Kong. Show how parents and teachers impact on career choice.

c) Would your next step be to survey as many fellow-students as possible, to ask them ‘what factors
influenced your career choice’? Why/ why not? __________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
No. Production of new evidence is usually not expected until postgraduate
level
________________________________________________________________________________

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 Introduction to Academic English
Lecture 5: Choosing the right type of sources

d) Browsing the shelves at your local library, you find these texts. Do they pass the CRAP test? Why/
why not?

Vins, M., (2013). Changing career choice patterns among rural youth. New York, NY: Anchor.
Osborne, T. (2016, May 6). Hong Kong needs doctors, but I became an alien! Stellar News.
Hong Kong Government (1868) The effect of the Opium Wars on job opportunities.
Ng, K. (2017, May) Why Hong Kong’s best graduates choose Banking. HSBC World 132, 72-78

While Wikipedia or a newspaper article may not be reliable enough for inclusion in an essay,
TIP it might refer to a source or research-finding that is. To find it, click the link or search for
key words!

Electronic Searches for the Texts you Need

The key ‘content’ words in the essay title can be used in an academic internet search engine such as Google
Scholar, or your HKU Library account (when you get your library card from HKU).
Given the vast resources, your search should be specific, because it may take many searches, using varied
combinations of the keywords, including synonyms, before you get the results that you need.
When using an online library such as HKU, you may find resources that are described as books but in fact
they may be a thesis or dissertation. Identify what you are reading to be sure it passes the CRAP test.

Task 2

a) Based on the content words identified in task 1a, what search terms would you enter to research this
topic? (HINT: merely entering ‘career’ would NOT yield useful results!)
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________

Assume that your search yields the following five sources (extracts only are included). Use them to
discuss and answer the questions that follow.
1 For many students, a college degree puts you on the direct path to a certain career, such as a doctor,
teacher, or journalist. But for many others, the future isn't as clear-cut. Maybe you want to go to med
school, but don't necessarily want to be a doctor. Maybe you love maps, but aren't sure how to make
that a career. Or perhaps you just haven't found anything that sounds appealing yet.
Luckily, there are tons of great career options out there that many college kids have no idea even
exist. In this helpful thread, Reddit users shared some of these under-the-radar occupations that most
students probably haven't heard of. Here are 18 of our favorites, including salary data from the US
Bureau of Labor Statistics, for those who need some inspiration finding their dream job.

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 Introduction to Academic English
Lecture 5: Choosing the right type of sources

2 This study examined the views of teaching as a career choice held by Hong Kong students in their
final year of upper secondary school (Secondary Seven). Significant differences were found between
students' interest in teaching and demographic characteristics such as gender, religious beliefs,
household income and parents' education levels, as well as their public examination scores and
streams of study. Three attractive and three deterrent factors were identified among the reasons
influencing students' choice of teaching as a career, respectively. Among 20 listed occupations,
teaching was ranked relatively high by the students, both as the occupation they ‘most wanted’ and
‘most respected’. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and draws conclusions which
may be helpful to teacher education providers and policy makers on measures to recruit prospective
students to initial teacher education.

3 Obonije (2009) observed that most of the students in secondary schools in Enugu estate chose jobs
without relating them to their interest and capability to cope with the nature/demand of the job. This,
he attributed to lack of guidance and counselling units in the school. Shertzer and Stone (2003)
discovered that the element of interest and ability are the basic factors influencing students in their
choice of subjects. A number of studies has been carried out on career choice among students by
different scholars. According to Hewitt (2010), factors influencing career choice can either be
intrinsic or extrinsic or both. Hewitt further states that most people are influenced by careers that their
parents favor. Others follow the careers that their educational choices have opened for them. Still,
others choose to follow their passion regardless of how much or little it will make them. Finally, there
are those who choose careers that will give high income. Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara and
Pastorelli (2001) states that each individual undertaking the process of choosing a career is influenced
by several factors including the context in which they live in, their personal aptitudes, social contacts
and educational attainment.

4 The exam season is over and, as usual, the media has turned its
attention to the top scorers in the Diploma of Secondary
Education. Of six students who scored 5** in all subjects this
year, five said they wanted to pursue a degree in medicine,
while the sixth preferred heading for dentistry. Immediately,
many people pointed fingers at the choices of these students.
Some criticised them for having “no guts” or making “boring”
choices, while others lamented that our youth are too money-
minded, as the medical profession promises a steady income.

Pursuing a medicine degree isn’t a wrong decision to make. I have always believed that choosing a
major comes down to the free choice of any individual. So our personal criticisms might overlook
that they worked hard and they had the scores to show for it, and we should not let anything take
away from this fact. But I think it is a good time for our society as a whole to reflect a bit upon
ourselves. Have we, as adults, given our youth an impression that nothing but a particular field – in
this case, medicine – is the way to success?

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 Introduction to Academic English
Lecture 5: Choosing the right type of sources

5 Career choice [edit] Further information: List of largest employers and List of professions
According to Behling and others, an individual's decision to join a firm may depend on any of the
three factors viz. objective factor, subjective factor and critical contact.[6] In reality the scarcity of
jobs and strong competition for desirable jobs severely skews the decision making process.
Additionally, Ott-Holland and colleagues found that culture can have a major influence on career
choice, depending on the type of culture.[7]
When choosing a career that's best for you, according to US News [citation needed], there are multiple
things to consider. Some of those include: natural talents, work style, social interaction, work-life
balance, whether or not you are looking to give back, whether you are comfortable in the public eye,
dealing with stress or not, and finally, how much money you want to make. In today's workplace,
choosing a career doesn't necessarily mean you have to stick with that line of work for your entire
life. Make a smart decision, and plan to re-evaluate down the line based on your long-term objectives.

b) Skim read the texts above, then match each to its source, using lines. The first is done for you. Does
each one pass the CRAP test? Why?

Source Source (NOT in order, and NOT an APA style reference)

A Business Insider, 18 awesome career choices most college kids would never think of.
Emmie Martin, Jacquelyn Smith and Rachel Gillett, July 2015
Relevance : us centric Purpose : to inform , but also to click
Authority : sensationalist tittle , informal vocab bait
B https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Career#Career_choice

Authority source from wiki , also mix of academic + non-academic sources

( us news )
Relevance : not hi specific
C Journal of Education for Teaching International Research and Pedagogy, Currency
Kwok‐chan Lai , Kwok‐wai Chan , Kwok‐wai Ko & Kwok‐sang So, Jan 2007
Teaching as a career: A perspective from Hong Kong senior secondary students

D Journal of Educational Policy and Entrepreneurial Research,

Otukho, Nabie and Godia, Aug 2017, Effect of curriculum on career choices of
secondary school students in Hamisi Sub County, Kenya Relevance : about Kenya not
hk
E The South China Morning Post, If Hong Kong’s students are too focused on future
income, are the adults to blame?, Chan, T. July, 2017

Authority : the opinion of a journalist , not evidence-based

Self-directed e-learning:
Go to the course page on SOUL and complete the third vocabulary-building task.