How to Write 5-Star Source Notes

Background:

Source notes are important because good sourcing isn't just dependent on the information provided. Good sourcing should be explained in detail, leaving little to the writer's imagination. At the end of the day, the sourcer will be far more familiar with the research than the writer.

When writing source notes:

There are several pieces of information to point out in your note that will help prove the credibility of the source, aid the writer in the next step, and show that you’re answering at least part of the client’s question.

Information:

1. Title: Automatically populates but up to you if you want to tweak it to be more helpful
2. Date of Source: All sources used should be no older than 2 years, unless the interpreter has specifically noted that the client is OK with older sources. If you can’t find recent sources but believe an older source still provides great information, it’s important to explain why you believe it’s still valuable to the client.
3. Part of request source addresses: Looking at the request and what the client needs, what does this source help answer? It could be one part of the client’s question, some parts, or everything. For spreadsheet requests, indicate the row and column this information addresses.
4. Where in source it can be found: clearly state where in the source this is so the writer can quickly and easily find it themselves.
5. Relevant parts of source: This is the meat of the note! Here, you’ll identify the key pieces of information from the source that answers the client’s question that the writer should use. Anything directly copy and pasted from the source should be in quotation marks!
6. Calculation or part used in calculation (if necessary): If you need to do triangulations [insert link on what a triangulation is] or other calculations like CAGR [link], be sure to explain them so the reviewer and writer can follow your logic.
7. Credibility of source (if necessary): The internet is a big place! If you found a source from a lesser known site, help the reviewer and writer understand why we can trust this source location or why we can trust the person who wrote it.
8. Other useful information (if necessary)

EXAMPLE

The Source: 2017 Training Industry Report (automatically populated)

1) Source Link:

https://pubs.royle.com/publication/?i=448382#{%22issue_id%22:448382,%22page%22:22}

2) Date of source:

November/December 2017

3) Part of request source addresses:

This source provides how much U.S. businesses spent on training in 2017, the percentage of training that took place online, and how much per employee service companies spent on training.

4) Where in source it can be found:

-Page 21: Total amount U.S. businesses spent on training (graph)

-Page 23: Amount per employee service companies spent on training (2nd full paragraph)

-Page 28: Percentage of training that took place online (first bullet point under “Training Delivery”)

5) Relevant parts of source:

-Total amount U.S. businesses spent on training: $93.6 billion

-Amount per employee service companies spent on training: $1,157/learner (“Overall, on average, companies spent $1,075 per learner this year compared with $814 per learner in 2016. Manufacturers spent the most per learner this year ($1,217), followed by service organizations ($1,157)”)

- Percentage of training that took place online: 28.6% (“28.6 percent of hours were delivered via online or computer-based technologies, down from 30.4 percent last year.”)

6) Calculation:

$93.6 billion x 0.286 = $26,769,600,000 spent on online learning for all corporations.

$1,158 x 0.286 = $331 spent per service industry learner on online training.

7) Credibility of Source:

This annual training report is commissioned by Training Magazine and has been issued for 35 consecutive years. It is “recognized as the training industry’s most trusted source of data on budgets, staffing, and programs.”

8) Other useful information:

The $331 spent per service industry learner will be used in conjunction with the BLS report on how many employees are hired every month in the service industry to calculate a total spend on training per month and year for service companies. See BLS source for calculation.