Analysis of sources.
So you don't believe me? Nor do you trust me? Well, to prove my blog is totally legit I have gone through the effort of providing a detailed analysis on 5 of my sources, now you can finally decide for yourself wether you trust me... Anyway to find out even more about pharming feel free to visit the sites and book for a different take on pharming.
Pharming for pharmaceuticals
(university)
Pharming for pharmaceuticals is an informative article written by one or various authors working within the University of Utah. The source of the information appears to be highly credible because the content is expressed on behalf of the health and science department of the University of Utah. Hence the sources of information are mostly primary and first-hand accounts through research done by the university itself. To uphold its reputation and the legitimacy of an institute, the University of Utah will not purposely give false or unclear information. Furthermore since the article written is purely informative and an institution such as a university has no tendencies for bias the article should be reliable. The detail of information along with the choice of language employed in the article is very sophisticated and detailed, portraying the credibility and depth of research done by the university. Ultimately despite the sophisticated language the level of detail in the articles helps to clears up all understanding of the subject.
My Ratings:
Scientific content: 9
Details provided: 9
Language: 7
Credibility: 9
Bias: 9
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/science/pharming/
How does genetic engenieering work?
(non-government organisation)
“How does genetic engineering work?” is an informative article written by a well-known non-government organisation. ABPI, the organisation which wrote the article, is an organisation dedicated to providing resources to schools to aids with the curriculum; all of the resources on the site are developed by the “Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry”. Since all of the resources are design to be used as educational resources the articles and information presented are tangible to student for easier understanding. The source should also be relatively credible because it is written by a powerful association with vast amounts of research and knowledge on the topic, thus all information should be primary and first-hand making them the most reliable. However since it is nevertheless written by the association of an industry the information given may be biased towards portraying the industry with positivity, however since the article is purely informative it should be mostly unbiased. Due to the fact that the articles is purposed to be used as an educational resource for schools and student of age 14+ the language used within is relatively simple and easy to understand. The depth of information is also very detailed as there are multiple pages dedicated to explaining the science behind the subject.
Scientific content: 9
Details provided: 10
Language: 8
Credibility: 7
Bias: 9
http://www.abpischools.org.uk/page/modules/geneticengineering/how.cfm?coSiteNavigation_allTopic=1
Pharmed goats seek drug licence.
(news article)
“Pharmed goats seeking drug licence” is a news articles written by a reporter from the BBC. Since the news article is a published article by the BBC, which has an outstanding reputation, the information provided in the article are most likely credible. BBC is a news publisher with a high reputation and a large reader base, thus since BBC published so many articles the information in one particular article can not be biased or the publisher will lose its reputation and credibility. Hence as the reporter’s role is merely to pass on information and inform the reader, thus there is absolutely zero bias and this adds to its credibility. However all of the information in the article are secondary and not directly from the source since the reporter is merely reporting information. The reporter is merely passing on information in a collective manner for the reader to read, thus information and context may be lost in the process. Furthermore since the article is written by just one person it is more prone to human errors. The language used in the article is purposed to be read by the general public, thus it is very suitable being not overly sophisticated or lacklustre. Ultimately the language used in the article is concise and clear to best portray information without dragging out the piece and easy to understand. The reporter attempts to refer to a vast variety of sources so the detail of information for each source and topic is sacrificed to keep the piece concise and short. Another shortfall of this source is the lack of scientific content provided, this is likely because the author is just a journalist and the main objective of the news article was to convey news to everyday readers instead of going in depth on scientific discussions.
Scientific content: 5
Details provided: 5
Language: 10
Credibility: 8
Bias: 10
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4740230.stm
Animal Pharming: The Industrialization of Transgenic Animals (government website)
Animal pharming is an article and repot written by the Center for Emerging Issues which falls under the US government. The report discusses a variety of advantages and issues concerning the newly emerging technology of pharming. Since the report is written by a department under the US government which has huge resources dedicated to scientific research, the information provided in the report should be highly creditable. The report proposes a detailed analysis over the subject of pharming, throughout the piece it reference research data and reports by the US government. All of the data comes from external sources of other government departments, meaning the information isn’t conveyed first-hand. However communication between the research departments and those writing the report should be fairly accurate and thus the information provided should be reliable. Furthermore the analysis provided in the report draws arguments from both sides and portrays it accurately to the reader, thus due to the lack of bias the report can likely be trusted along with the valid analysis of arguments from both sides which it presents. The language used within the report is very formal due to its nature as an analysis report on a significant topic. I had to read the report carefully to fully grasp its meaning. The detail of the report concerning each topic is also quite lacking because the report is most likely targeted at those who are already well associated with the topic beforehand, instead the bulk of the analysis consists of various evidence and research to complement the analysis.
Scientific content: 7
Details provided: 5
Language: 5
Credibility: 9
Bias: 9
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/emergingissues/downloads/animal_pharming.pdf
Critical Perspectives on Genetically Modified Crops and Food (book)
This book written by Susan Gordon is a critical analysis on the subject of pharming. The book approaches the subjects through mainly a historical background as the author examines arguments behind the subject. The book is a published, informative and non-fiction book, it balances a variety of view points and opinions from all kinds of people. The credibility of the information and arguments provided are relatively reliable as the author of the book does not personally take sides but merely explores the different arguments. The book is balanced by diverse viewpoints from scientists, business leaders, government officials, and political activists. Furthermore the author of the book Suzanne Gordon is journalist, author and editor, thus she since has no sides to take on the subject her accounts of information and arguments should be generally considered as unbiased and reliable. However since she is merely a journalist writing on the subject she lacks sufficient knowledge and this may hinder her credibility. All information is given in second hand accounts as the author did not obtain the research data her self, thus some of the information may have lost its context. The language of the book is concise and very suitable; this efficient employment of language may be due to the author’s background as a journalist. The detail provided in the book is also relatively deep as she explores different arguments in depth.
Scientific content: 10
Details provided: 9
Language: 9
Credibility: 9
Bias: 9