Any good paper has reliable sources. This is especially true for a cause and effect thesis paper. The fact is that you need sources to help prove whatever claims you are making within your essay.
Sources show credibility and make your arguments strong because when you quote or paraphrase your sources, they show that experts in the field agree with you. Many professors will ask for a minimum number of resources to be included.
Sources also help you while doing research to learn more about the topic and different perspectives. So, how do you search for these useful things? The general and most convenient ways are online and in the library.
However, you need to make sure that the sources that you are using in your cause and effect essay are appropriate. Thus we have listed several big sources that you should never use.
1. Unreliable Opinion Websites
Not all websites are taboo. There are many viable resources to use on the Internet. You just have to be really careful. Websites like Wikipedia are great to use as background reading, but not as a reference. This is because anyone is allowed to edit the pages. Other websites where anyone can write or publish cannot be used as well.
Opinion sites, or articles that are based on people’s personal opinions are also a no-go. Most of the time, the authors are not experts in these particular fields that they are talking about.
2. Forums
Quoting or getting information from forums or comment sections will definitely damage your thesis. Everyone has an opinion. It’s true that everyone has the freedom to express their thoughts, but it doesn’t mean that it is viable. Good forums may eventually lead you to a more reliable or academic site, but steer clear in general.
3. Tabloids and Magazines
Tabloids are gossip and magazines aren’t usually academic. Tabloids are never okay, but perhaps you could find a magazine article to use if you look carefully enough. The key is to look and do some research on the author to see what accomplishments they have achieved in that particular field of study.
In these sources, in most cases you will find incorrect information (like with unreliable websites and forums), causing you to have to double check with a help of a more reliable source. This doubles the work, so use academic sources from the very beginning when you start writing your paper!
If you use any of these three sources mentioned above, unfortunately you won’t do well in your essay. It may sound amazing and your writing may be off the charts, but it won’t matter. These types of sources can easily ruin your masterpiece.
A good tip for finding sources for cause and effect thesis papers, and any paper in general, is to head to your local library and either use their database to search, or an even better option would be to ask for a librarian’s help. As for online sources, a good site is Google Scholar because the search results only show academic, credible, and reliable sources that you can use without doubting where they come from.