When you look at any writing, consider the scope of the text. What do we mean by scope? Scope refers to "the things that a particular activity, organization, subject, etc. deals with," as defined by to the Macmillan Dictionary. It means the extent of coverage of a topic.. Retrieved from https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/scope_1
Determine how long the writing is, how much information is provided. Is it surface-level only, or does it go deep enough to prove the author's point?
Determine how in-depth the coverage is. Is it enough to meet your needs?
Determine what, if anything, may have been left out of the text. Do you need to expand the scope of information provided by going to an alternative or additional source?
Getting Something That has an Appropriate Scope for Your Needs: What to Look For Look for an introduction at the beginning/top of the page that may tell you the scope of the writing
Look at the headlines and subheads to determine the scope of the writing and what the autho is focusing on
Look at the length of the writing on the subject. How much can the author cover well in the amount that he or she has written? Very short? This is often a sign of not enough information and/or not enough consultation of good data or other resources.
Interested in knowing more about qi gong? Depending on how much you want to know, you will choose a brief text or a longer one. Depending on how much you already know about it, you may choose something with a scope that goes into the topic in-depth or even from a specific perspective.
Step 1: Take a look at these resources, each with its unique scope on qi gong:
Step 2: Now click on the article titles below to read a little about the scope of each.
This is a 4-page article from Yoga Journal. It gives us the basics of what qi gong is. If this is all we needed, this would work well, as long as it passes the rest of the tests for credibility and all of the other tests we discuss in this tutorial for avoiding a catastrophe with an information source.
This 6-page article from the scholarly Journal on Active Aging is just a bit longer than the article from Yoga Journal and has a broader focus on healthy aging. We might expect it to include within its scope reference to additional articles as well.
(Click on the image for a larger version.)
This is a 14-page article from the scholarly journal Complimentary Health Practice Review, which provides an in-depth study of qi gong. So if you wanted an in-depth look at qi gong, this might be an excellent choice.
(Click on the image for a larger version.)