Credible Sources

       In this post I will provide you with two sources that I believe are useful. I will also begin to narrow my topic down a little bit.
       The first source that I want to share with you is an article by Megan McArdle. This article was published in this week's edition of Newsweek as well as being posted on The Daily Beast's website. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/09/09/megan-mcardle-on-the-coming-burst-of-the-college-bubble.html. There are a couple of reasons that this article is a credible source. One is the author's credentials. Megan McArdle used to be the business and economics editor for The Atlantic. She has also been featured in The Economist, The New York Sun, The New York Post, and other publications. Currently she is a special correspondent for Newsweek and The Daily Beast, covering business, economics, and public policy. Another good sign that this is a credible source is that it appeared in print.
        The second source that I want to share with you is an article written by Radhika Miller. http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2012/09/12/finding-the-value-in-a-college-degree. Once again this article makes a good source because of the author's credentials. Radhika Miller is a program manager for Educational Debt Relief and Outreach at Equal Justice Works. She has also served on student loan committees in the Department of Education's negotiated rulemaking focusing on the College Cost Reduction and Acces Act as well as other debt relief initiatives. Another good sign of credibility is that her article appears on the website of a recognized news and research source.
        Megan McArdle's article is useful to me for several reasons. One is that she provides statistics on the jobs that people graduating with a bachelor's degree end up with. This helps me answer the question, Is the reward worth the price? Another reason Megan McArdle's article is useful to me is that she discusses why the price is going up and what the consequences will be. Radhika Miller's article is useful to me because it presents the other side of the argument. She argues, among other things, that a college degree is worth the cost because it provides job security. This is useful to me because it will help me balance what I write, as well as helping me decide what topics to address. Both articles are useful to me because of their currency. They both address current aspects of the argument, which is necessary for me to provide useful information.
        As I continue to write I will be focusing mainly on whether or not the price of going to college is worth the reward. As I write some of the other topics will be addressed. However, they will not be addressed to the same depth as my main topic.