Verify Your Research

We're going to talk about research today. I know, in the past, I have focused on the research you do to find editors and agents, but today, it is all about the research going into your books. Verifying the authenticity of that research, in today's digital world, is more important than ever.

I am bringing this up because just yesterday, I saw on a social media writing group I follow, an author asking for some help on research for his book. OK, so far so good. This person knew to reach out to people. But here is where the problems showed up. The post followed with a lot of people offering links to the research sites they used. These people were honestly trying to help and provide, what they thought, were great sources. However, looking at the links (and yes I followed a couple to verify) these were sites that a true researcher would have to question the information. 

The digital world we live in has a lot of people out there claiming to be "experts" in their field. But their expertise is far from credible. 

Just because they say "they know their stuff" does not mean they know "the right stuff."

As someone who teaches academic writing as well, we focus heavily on verifying the source and verifying the material and information in the source. Is it up to date? Is this person a specialist? Is the information coming from a source that might be biased or have an agenda? 

While some of you might think this might be over-kill, I can guarantee there will be readers out there who will catch you on this. Not great publicity.

So, for this person who was asking about the research, the recommendation is that feel free to look at the research, but take it a step further. Follow those links, verify the information. Cross check the information. It may take time, but at least you will save your reputation.