Teaching Source Credibility and Bias

Standard 6.8 – Evaluating Sources

Essential question

What do my students need to evaluate when choosing sources for their research projects?

Research Assignment

This year you will write a research paper that involves literary analysis.

We will begin research this month, and you need to know how to choose good 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

UsefulnessCredibilityBias

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 How recent is the information? How recently has the website been updated? Is it current enough for your topic? Reliability 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?

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?

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 Credentials 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

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 PoliticsRush 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 self-gratification.

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 URLsedu = 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. A brochure advertising Ford’s newest “Green” models

B. A National Geographic article on changing weather patterns

C. A study conducted by BMW on exterior paint for cars

D. 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

AnswerThe 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 sourceRank each of these websites from 1(low) to 4

(high) according to how reliable and accurate you think they would be:

1. The most recent U.S. Department of Labor statistics on unemployment

2. Twelfth-grader’s blog on the history of silent films

3. Wikipedia article about a controversial political issue

4. 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