The information literate student evaluates sources and information critically to determine whether content satisfies information need.(Standard 3)
Lesson Objectives
On completion of this lesson, students should be able to:
Credibility of Information Sources
When writing a research paper or presenting information, it is very important to establish the credibility of the source and the authority of the author/producer.
All forms of information (e.g. websites, newspaper articles, magazine articles, and scholarly journal articles) can be evaluated for credibility. At times, it may be difficult to establish authorship or even the sponsor of the information, particularly with website information.
These are 6 basic criteria for evaluating information:
Scholarly information as in scholarly journal articles often offers more reliable information than popular writing. Frequently, scholarly articles are published by experts in a field and present data from research. Popular writing may quote from studies that were conducted and then reported on in scholarly articles. However, the popular rendition as in a newspaper article sometimes omits the details needed to understand the data. See Cornell University Library on Distinguishing Scholarly Articles from popular media.
Scholarly articles usually have References or Works Cited lists at the end of the paper.
Website introduction to scientific method from U of Rochester
A. Explore these two websites containing information on Christopher Columbus, or choose alternative topic sites or print materials.
B. Review the content of the two sites. Go to the home page and look for authorship of the sites, this may be under the “contact us” or “authors” page.
Discussion Questions:
Follow this link to "The Promise of National Service: A (Very) Brief History of An Idea" from this website and then look at the evaluation of the source.
The information literate student evaluates sources and information critically to determine whether content satisfies information need. (Standard 3)
Lesson Objectives
On completion of this lesson, students should be able to:
When reading or viewing all information, it is wise to assess the material for bias, prejudice, deception or manipulation. The ideal source shows objectivity (see synonyms below). Frequently, sources of information offer a specific viewpoint about an issue. Accessing additional information on other sides of an issue allows a critical reader the opportunity to make a judgment on the arguments and facts of the issue.
However, not all information that has a bias should be totally discounted. Some organizations offer valid data in support of their view. Also, to reach a judgment, the other point of view should be sought to get a balanced picture and be able to come to a well-reasoned conclusion.
On the other hand, openly prejudiced language (use of racial, ethnic epithets, stereotyping in language) marks information as non-credible. Deception or manipulation in a source also brings into question the validity of the content.
Objectivity: synonyms fairness and balance1
Definition of Bias:
“…a preference or an inclination especially one that inhibits impartial judgment; an unfair act or policy stemming from prejudice.”2
These are some basic steps to follow to evaluate information for bias, prejudice, deception, or manipulation
Definition of Prejudice:
1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. any preconceived opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.4
The following website contains examples of bias/prejudice in writing from Queen’s College, New York: http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/writing/history/critical/bias.html
Definition of Deception:
1. the act of deceiving; the state of being deceived.
2. something that deceives or is intended to deceive; fraud; artifice.5
Example of Deceptive Writing (Advertising to Children)
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Students/Lovstrom/frame.htm
1. the act of manipulating.
2. the state or fact of being manipulated.
3. skillful or artful management.
One form of manipulation in sources is propaganda. This website from Cuesta College (http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/404.htm) discusses some of the methods used. Many of these methods of manipulating readers/listeners involve informal fallacies in logic.
Some examples of these misleading arguments are:
References
1Anderson, Robin and Jonathan Gray, eds. Battleground: The Media. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood. 2007. Print.
2“Bias.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.
3Taylor, Terry. 100% Information Literacy Success. New York, N.Y.: Thomson/Delmar, 2007. Print.
4“Prejudice.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4.html Web.
5“Deception.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/help/ahd4.html Web.
An editorial is given in which a specific bias is demonstrated (http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/8546742.html)
Analyze these two articles about gun control:
Questions to Consider:
Explore these two websites containing information on Martin Luther King, Jr., or choose alternative topic sites or print materials.
Review the content of the two sites. Examine the source of the information.
Discussion Questions
The information literate student evaluates sources and information critically to determine whether content satisfies information need.(Standard 3)
Lesson Objectives
On completion of this lesson, students should be able to:
How will you be able to determine if the information you are reading is accurate?
Some tips on verifying information:
Pew Website poll on public's view of media
Scientific Method (Duplication of experimentation to verify results of research that is published)
A. Explore this website on the dangers of Dihydrogen Monoxide (water), or choose an alternative topic site or print materials.
B. Review the content on the site. Consider the source of the information.
Discussion Questions
Groups of students in class or online find a news article presenting scientific data. The students see if they can find the original study through a database or Google Scholar search.
Students find websites that give statistics that have no reference to where they were found and post the websites to a discussion group with a comment.
The information literate student evaluates sources and information critically to determine whether content satisfies information need (Standard 3)
Lesson Objectives
On completion of the lesson, students should be able to:
Need for Currency in Information
Some topics require more current resources than others. In order to adequately research scientific topics, medical topics, current events, and current issues, up-to-date information should be located. However, that may not always be true of arts and humanities disciplines. Older works may be acceptable for those fields.
Although book information gives in-depth background information, if the most current update is not covered on a scientific topic, the information presented will be judged inaccurate. In the legal field, laws that are not current can be considered dangerous and misleading; the same can be true for medical topics.
Although currency of information is important in the medical and scientific fields, researchers still must be familiar with older works. A case occurred in which a medication that had shown dangerous side effects ten years earlier was given another trial with fatal results, because the researchers had not read the older literature.
So, for comprehensive field research, both older and current information must be read.
However, a topic in literature, history, philosophy, and other humanities subjects, may be better covered by a work that is a “classic in the field.” An example would be Plato’s Republic or the book Clausewitz’s On War. These are older, timeless works.
Finding Up-to-Date Information
Most books and all periodical articles are assigned a date, making it easier to evaluate for currency. When utilizing the Internet, many of the search engines allow narrowing by date, although this date may be when the information was published on the Internet. Also, some books are republished editions of older works. It is important to take time to discover the true date of a source.
Depth of Information
Books are good sources to find in-depth background information about a topic, although for topics where currency is important, periodical articles or online resources might also be used.
If one were researching the disease malaria, a book from the past 5 years giving the history, symptoms, and countries where the disease is found would be helpful. However, a visit to the World Health Organization website could give an update on the number of cases in the world today. Articles from a current medical journal could give up-to-date medications for the disease.
Most subscription databases allow the user to sort articles by the most updated, or set a date range.
Groups of students in class or online do a search for a medical topic using a newspaper database where they limit the dates searched. A search is done for a book on the topic, and the difference in coverage in the two types of sources are compared and discussed.
Evaluate these three websites below and answer these questions about the information:
Websites
Explore these two websites containing information on Kiwa hirsute (Yeti crab), or use two alternative topic sites or print materials.
Discussion Questions
The information literate student evaluates sources and information critically to determine whether content satisfies information need. (Standard 3)
Lesson Objectives
On completion of this lesson, students should be able to:
Evaluating Resources For Depth and Pertinence of Information
To support a thesis statement, writers of research papers need enough information backing the points made in the paper.
Also, a broad sweeping claim is often not easily supported. A topic where the writer finds specific data, examples, or case reports to exemplify the thesis works better.
When doing research, often a working bibliography (an initial list of sources located on a topic that has not been evaluated closely) is compiled first on the general topic around which the thesis is centered. Of those sources, more specific information is gathered and scrutinized for arguments or points to support the thesis statement. The final bibliography is carefully evaluated for credibility, authorship, bias, currency (if needed), and depth and pertinence of the information.
Do The Statistics Uphold A Claim In The Thesis Statement?
Another thesis statement: The State of Florida needs to build more schools. However, statistics do not support more school-age children in the state either through the birth rate or relocation as reported here from the National Center for Education Statistics:
Taken from that report:
"A decrease of 1 percent is expected for the Southern region between 1999 and 2010. Fourteen of the 16 states are projected to show decreases. Decreases are projected for Alabama (0.7 percent), Arkansas (4 percent), Delaware (2 percent), District of Columbia (5 percent), Florida (5 percent), Kentucky (5 percent), Louisiana (4 percent), Maryland (2 percent), Mississippi (2 percent), North Carolina (6 percent), Oklahoma (5 percent), South Carolina (5 percent), Virginia (0.9 percent), and West Virginia (7 percent). Increases are expected in Georgia (4 percent), Tennessee (1 percent), and Texas (5 percent)."
Is This Information Relevant?
In addition, when doing research, some sources do not provide enough depth or substance, and sometimes are not relevant to the topic. Each source should be evaluated individually.
Read the information given below on the thesis statement and answer the questions posed about the viability of the thesis statement.
Thesis: Students who are required to wear school uniforms do better academically than students who do not wear uniforms.
Preliminary Research Results on the Proposed Thesis
Consider if these books have enough information to be useful and support the thesis.
Catalog information:
Uniforms in public schools : a decade of research and debate
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School uniform policies in public schools[PDF] from knowledge-media.com
Find it at SPC DL Brunsma - PRINCIPAL-ARLINGTON-, 2006 - knowledge-media.com
Another book:
Dress codes in schools
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Articles on the topic:
Article from ERIC Digest:
ERIC Digest 148 - May 2001
Uniforms and Dress-Code Policies
This digest does not give specific studies or mention Academic achievement specifically; It is very brief.
School Uniforms, Academic Achievement, and Uses of Research.
Images
Authors:
Bodine, Ann1 abodine@UTSA.edu
Source:
Journal of Educational Research; Nov/Dec2003, Vol. 97 Issue 2, p67-71, 5p, 2 Charts
Document Type:
Article
Subject Terms:
*UNIFORMS
*EDUCATION
*ACADEMIC achievement
*COMMUNICATION & technology
*DATABASES
Author-Supplied Keywords:
academic achievement
academic research
school uniforms
NAICS/Industry Codes:
923110 Administration of Education Programs
611699 All Other Miscellaneous Schools and Instruction
611710 Educational Support Services
Abstract:
ABSTRACT School uniforms are being advocated for a range of social, educational, economic, and familial reasons. In 1998, The Journal of Educational Research (The JER) published an article by D. Brunsma and K. Rockquemore that claims that uniforms correlate negatively with academic achievement, but data presented in this article actually show positive correlation between uniforms and achievement for the total sample, and for all but 1 school sector. Examination of structure of argument reveals that the erroneous claim results from misleading use of sector analysis. Simultaneous with The JER article, and on the basis of the same National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988 database, an Educational Testing Service article reported that no correlation exists between uniforms and achievement. The two articles are contrasted in this study. The effect of new communication technology in amplifying political uses of academic research is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Give students an example of how to judge if a source has enough pertinent information to support a thesis.
Discuss examples and alternate suggestions for various thesis statements.
Students are given three articles and a thesis statement.
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