Transcript Teaching Source Credibility and Bias

Teaching Source
Credibility and
Bias
Standard 6.8 – Evaluating
Sources
Primary or Secondary
 Primary
Sources: Literary works
(poems, short stories, novels, essays,
plays); documents, autobiographies;
letters; interviews; speeches; surveys;
tables of statistics
 Secondary Sources: Comment on or
analysis of an original text; biographies
Primary Sources
Credibility
is not an issue
 WHY?
Bias,
however, may need to be
a consideration
 WHY?
Secondary Sources
Evaluation
of these sources is
essential
Credibility of authorship,
authenticity, accuracy, and bias
may be an issue
Evaluating the
source
Usefulness
Credibility
Bias
Usefulness
 Your
purpose: What will this source
add to your research project? Will it
help support a major point, demonstrate
you have researched thoroughly, or help
establish your own credibility as a
conscientious researcher?
Is It CRAP?

Currency

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How recent is the information?
How recently has the website been updated?
Is it current enough for your topic?

Reliability
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
What kind of information is included in the resource?
Is content of the resource primarily opinion? Is is balanced?
Does the creator provide references or sources for data or quotations?
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Authority


Who is the creator or author?
What are the credentials?
Who is the published or sponsor?
Are they reputable?
What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this information?
Are there advertisements on the website?

Purpose/Point of View

Is this fact or opinion?
the creator/author trying to sell you something?
Is it biased?
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Usefulness
 Relevance:
Is the source relevant to
your project, or are you simply listing
sources to meet a quota?
Usefulness
 Level
of specialization: General
sources can be helpful when you are
beginning your research, but you may
need more specialized or more current
resources. Ask yourself, “Who was this
source written for? A general audience?
A more specialized group?” How does
this resource fit with your audience and
purpose.
Credibility

Credentials of the publisher or sponsor:
What can you learn about the newspaper or
sponsor of the source? For example, is it a
newspaper known for integrity or is it a
tabloid? Is it a popular source, or is it
sponsored by a professional organization or
academic institution? Is the book published
by a company you recognize or can locate
easily on the web?
Credibility
of the author: An author’s
credentials often are included on the
back cover or flap covers of the book.
When researching, does the author’s
name come up in other sources? He
may be influential in his field
 Credentials
Credibility

Date of the publication: Recent publication
dates may be more useful in the sciences or
other fields where change is frequent and
current information is essential. However, in
the Humanities, the most authoritative works
may be the oldest. Publications dates on the
web are difficult to assess, which explains
why MLA suggests recording the date you
accessed the information instead of a
publication date.
Credibility
 Accuracy
of the source: Can you
locate other sources that corroborate
this source? In other words, can you
find other sources that have similar
information or support parts of what you
find in this source?
Credibility
 Cross-references
to the source: Is the
source cited in other works? If you see
the source cited other places, notice
what another author says about the
source. Another’s comments may give
you insight into the credibility.
Bias

Stance of the source: It’s important to
identify the source’s point of view (bias).
Would the author have a reason to slant the
information? Omit essential facts or details?
Identifying the source is the first step toward
evaluating whether the source’s bias would be
a concern. For instance, would the source be
trying to convince you of an idea? Sell
something? Call you to action? Do any of
those purposes call the information in the
source into question?
What is bias?
According to Webster's Dictionary online:
Bias is defined as:
 an inclination of temperament or
outlook; especially: a personal and
sometimes unreasoned judgment:
PREJUDICE
Looking for bias
In Politics
Rush Limbaugh, Radio Talk Show Host
 Example: Proclaimed right wing
republican uses his talk show to
promote his party's platform beliefs
Looking for bias
In SELF-PROMOTERS Authors of
books, websites, or various written
works promote their works for selfgratification.
 Example: Toyota Today Magazine
rating its Toyota cars as the best in
its class based on some
specifications outlined by them.
Looking for bias
In FINANCE: A individual or company
creates website to advertise a
product or service.
 Example: Receiving Tax Tips from a
website designed and maintained by
H&R Block.
Looking for bias
From SPONSORS: An individual or
company supports a website with the
intention of gaining exposure.
 Example: Gaining interview and
resume writing tips from a website
sponsored by Kelly and Manpower
Temporary Services.com
Red Flags for
source credibility
 Anonymity
– no author or sponsoring
entity
 Negative reviews by other sources
 Misspelled words and poor grammar
 Vague or sweeping generalizations
 One-sided viewpoint that does not
address an opposing side
Red Flags
Intemperate tone or language ("stupid jerks,"
"shrill cries of my extremist opponents")
 Overclaims ("Thousands of children are
murdered every day in the United States.")
 Sweeping statements of excessive
significance ("This is the most important idea
ever conceived!")
 Conflict of Interest ("Welcome to the Old
Stogie Tobacco Company Home Page. To
read our report, 'Cigarettes Make You Live
Longer,' click here." or "The products our
competitors make are dangerous and bad for
your health.")

Red Flags
 Numbers
or statistics presented without
an identified source for them
 Absence of source documentation when
the discussion clearly needs such
documentation
 You cannot find any other sources that
present the same information or
acknowledge that the same information
exists (lack of corroboration)
Cues from URLs
edu = educational institution http://docsouth.unc.edu.
gov = US government site http://memory.loc.gov.
org = organization or association http://www.theaha.org.
com = commercial site http://www.historychannel.com.
museum = museum http://nc.history.museum.
net = personal or other site http://www.californiahistory.net
Choosing a resource

Your topic is acid rain and its effect on
automobile paint. Would you be more
likely to find relevant information in:
A.
B.
C.
D.
A brochure advertising Ford’s newest
“Green” models
A National Geographic article on changing
weather patterns
A study conducted by BMW on exterior paint
for cars
ICAR research on automobile safety in
hurricane force wind and rain
Answer:
 The
correct answer is C because it
specifically refers to automobile exterior
paint.

All of the other sources listed do not refer to
automobile paint. They may deal with rain
– but nothing indicates they refer to acid
rain. Therefore,
Which website?
For a research paper on the history of the sport
of lacrosse, which website will be the most
relevant and reliable?
A.
www.lacrosse.com (home page of the Great
Atlantic Lacrosse Company, which sells
lacrosse equipment)
B.
www.lacrosse.org (home page of US
Lacrosse, the governing body over men and
women’s lacrosse teams in the US)
C. www.lacrosseuniversity.com (website of
Lacrosse University in Bay St. Louis, MS)
D.
www.warriorlacrosse.com (website of
manufacturer of lacrosse equipment
Answer
The correct answer is B. Option A and D both
represent retail companies who sell sporting
equipment. Their websites would be unlikely
to have much information about the history of
the sport. Option C is a link to a university.
Option B is a link to an organization that
oversees the development and rules of the
sport, thus they would be more likely to have
information about the history of the sport.
Assess the source
Rank each of these websites from 1(low) to 4
(high) according to how reliable and
accurate you think they would be:
1.
2.
3.
4.
The most recent U.S. Department of Labor
statistics on unemployment
Twelfth-grader’s blog on the history of silent
films
Wikipedia article about a controversial
political issue
An editorial about Abraham Lincoln from the
New York Times, January 1862
Support your
ranking
Explain your reasons for ranking
each website to a partner.
Did you and your partner agree
on the rankings?
Sources
Harris, Robert. “Evaluating Internet Sources.” Virtual Salt. June 15,
2007. January 12, 2010. http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm.
Web.
Lunsford, Andrea A. The Everyday Writer: Fourth Edition. Boston:
Bedford- St. Martin’s Press, 2009. 170-171. Print