Can people relate to your linkedin articles? (2024)

There is an explosion of information and at the same time biased agenda driven writing on the social media inclusing linkedin. It is not difficult for even a person with less knowledge in the domain to sniff out the agenda behind the writing. Here are some tips to ensure your audience connects with you and the message you are intending to convey.

Credibility

Credibility is the quality of being believable or trustworthy. In the context of information and research, it refers to the reliability and accuracy of sources. Credible sources are those that are based on evidence and fact, and that are free from bias and personal opinion.

Here are some of the factors that contribute to a source's credibility:

• Author expertise: Is the author an expert in the field they are writing about? Do they have the necessary qualifications and experience?
• Source type: Is the source scholarly, peer-reviewed, or published by a reputable organization?
• Objectivity: Does the source present information in a neutral and unbiased way? Does it avoid making personal opinions or judgments?
• Evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support its claims? Is the evidence reliable and accurate?
• Currency: Is the source up-to-date and relevant to the current topic?
• Accuracy: Is the information in the source accurate and free from errors?
• Scholarly articles, books from academic publishers, and news stories tend to be the most credible sources.
• Op-eds and websites without clear authors or affiliations are less credible.
• Websites with sponsored content and those that try to disguise advertising as news should be avoided.
• Wikipedia is a good source for background information but not for primary research.

Here are some tips for evaluating the credibility of a source:

• Read the source carefully: Pay attention to the language, tone, and style of writing. Look for evidence of bias or personal opinion.
• Check the author's credentials: Research the author's qualifications and experience. See if they are an expert in the field they are writing about.
• Consider the source type: Is the source scholarly, peer-reviewed, or published by a reputable organization? These types of sources are generally more credible than personal blogs or websites.
• Look for evidence: Does the source provide evidence to support its claims? Is the evidence reliable and accurate?
• Check for bias: Does the source present information in a neutral and unbiased way? Does it avoid making personal opinions or judgments?
• Compare the source to other sources: See if other sources provide similar information. This can help you to verify the accuracy of the information.

Lateral Reading

Lateral reading is a critical skill for evaluating information online. It involves going beyond the original source you found and thinking like a fact checker. This means finding multiple external sources to assess the validity of the original source.

• This is the most important skill for evaluating online information.
• It involves going outside the original source to find multiple external sources to assess its validity.
• This helps you determine if the source is biased, misleading, or unreliable.

Here are the steps involved in lateral reading:

1. Identify the original source: This could be a news article, a blog post, a social media post, or any other kind of online content.
2. Question the source: Ask yourself questions about the source's credibility, such as: Who wrote it? What is their expertise? Who published it? What is their reputation?
3. Find other sources: Look for other sources that cover the same topic. This could include news articles, academic journals, government websites, or other credible sources.
4. Compare the sources: Compare the information in the original source to the information in the other sources. Look for similarities and differences.
5. Evaluate the evidence: Consider the evidence that each source provides to support its claims. Is the evidence reliable and accurate?
6. Draw conclusions: Based on your evaluation of the evidence, decide how credible you think the original source is.

Lateral reading is a valuable skill because it helps you to:

• Avoid misinformation: By reading multiple sources, you can get a more complete picture of a topic and avoid being misled by false or inaccurate information.
• Develop critical thinking skills: Lateral reading requires you to think critically about the information you encounter online. This can help you to develop better research skills and become a more informed consumer of information.
• Become a better researcher: By practicing lateral reading, you will become more efficient at finding and evaluating information. This can save you time and help you produce better research papers and projects.

Scholarly Sources

Scholarly sources are articles, books, and other materials that have been written by experts in a particular field and have been reviewed by other experts in the field before being published. They are considered to be the most credible sources of information because they are based on evidence and rigorous research.

Here are some of the characteristics of scholarly sources:

• Peer-reviewed: Scholarly sources have been reviewed by other experts in the field before being published. This ensures that the information is accurate and up-to-date.
• Based on evidence: Scholarly sources rely on evidence to support their claims. This evidence can include data, research findings, and expert opinions.
• Clear and concise writing: Scholarly sources are written in a clear and concise style. They avoid using jargon and technical terms that are not easily understood by the general public.
• Formal language: Scholarly sources use formal language and avoid using informal language or slang.
• Citations: Scholarly sources include citations that allow readers to track down the sources of information used in the text.

Other Tips:

• Look for citations to verify the information presented.
• Be aware of the author's perspective and potential bias.
• Use fact-checking websites and tools to verify information.
• Don't just rely on vertical reading (staying within the source).
• Consider the date and author byline when evaluating a source.
• Be cautious about sensational headlines and advertisem*nts.

Opinions expressed are those of the author and not the orgs he works at.