CriticallyAnalyzingInformationSources.docx
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CriticallyAnalyzingInformationSources.docx
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CriticallyAnalyzingInformationSources
CriticallyAnalyzingInformationSources
Youcanbeginevaluatingaphysicalinformationsource(abookoranarticleforinstance)evenbeforeyouhavethephysicaliteminhand.Appraiseasourcebyfirstexaminingthebibliographiccitation.Thebibliographiccitationisthewrittendescriptionofabook,journalarticle,essay,orsomeotherpublishedmaterialthatappearsinacatalogorindex.Bibliographiccitationscharacteristicallyhavethreemaincomponents:
author,title,andpublicationinformation.Thesecomponentscanhelpyoudeterminetheusefulnessofthissourceforyourpaper.(Inthesameway,youcanappraiseaWebsitebyexaminingthehomepagecarefully.)
I.INITIALAPPRAISAL
A.Author
Whataretheauthor'scredentials--institutionalaffiliation(whereheorsheworks),educationalbackground,pastwritings,orexperience?
Isthebookorarticlewrittenonatopicintheauthor'sareaofexpertise?
YoucanusethevariousWho'sWhopublicationsfortheU.S.andothercountriesandforspecificsubjectsandthebiographicalinformationlocatedinthepublicationitselftohelpdeterminetheauthor'saffiliationandcredentials.
Hasyourinstructormentionedthisauthor?
Haveyouseentheauthor'snamecitedinothersourcesorbibliographies?
Respectedauthorsarecitedfrequentlybyotherscholars.Forthisreason,alwaysnotethosenamesthatappearinmanydifferentsources.
Istheauthorassociatedwithareputableinstitutionororganization?
Whatarethebasicvaluesorgoalsoftheorganizationorinstitution?
B.DateofPublication
Whenwasthesourcepublished?
Thisdateisoftenlocatedonthefaceofthetitlepagebelowthenameofthepublisher.Ifitisnotthere,lookforthecopyrightdateonthereverseofthetitlepage.OnWebpages,thedateofthelastrevisionisusuallyatthebottomofthehomepage,sometimeseverypage.
Isthesourcecurrentorout-of-dateforyourtopic?
Topicareasofcontinuingandrapiddevelopment,suchasthesciences,demandmorecurrentinformation.Ontheotherhand,topicsinthehumanitiesoftenrequirematerialthatwaswrittenmanyyearsago.Attheotherextreme,somenewssourcesontheWebnownotethehourandminutethatarticlesarepostedontheirsite.
C.EditionorRevision
Isthisafirsteditionofthispublicationornot?
Furthereditionsindicateasourcehasbeenrevisedandupdatedtoreflectchangesinknowledge,includeomissions,andharmonizewithitsintendedreader'sneeds.Also,manyprintingsoreditionsmayindicatethattheworkhasbecomeastandardsourceintheareaandisreliable.IfyouareusingaWebsource,dothepagesindicaterevisiondates?
D.Publisher
Notethepublisher.Ifthesourceispublishedbyauniversitypress,itislikelytobescholarly.Althoughthefactthatthepublisherisreputabledoesnotnecessarilyguaranteequality,itdoesshowthatthepublishermayhavehighregardforthesourcebeingpublished.
E.TitleofJournal
Isthisascholarlyorapopularjournal?
Thisdistinctionisimportantbecauseitindicatesdifferentlevelsofcomplexityinconveyingideas.Ifyouneedhelpindeterminingthetypeofjournal,seeDistinguishingScholarlyfromNon-ScholarlyPeriodicals.OryoumaywishtocheckyourjournaltitleinthelatesteditionofKatz'sMagazinesforLibraries(OlinRefZ6941.K21,shelvedatthereferencedesk)forabriefevaluativedescription.
II.CONTENTANALYSIS
Havingmadeaninitialappraisal,youshouldnowexaminethebodyofthesource.Readtheprefacetodeterminetheauthor'sintentionsforthebook.Scanthetableofcontentsandtheindextogetabroadoverviewofthematerialitcovers.Notewhetherbibliographiesareincluded.Readthechaptersthatspecificallyaddressyourtopic.Scanningthetableofcontentsofajournalormagazineissueisalsouseful.Aswithbooks,thepresenceandqualityofabibliographyattheendofthearticlemayreflectthecarewithwhichtheauthorshavepreparedtheirwork.
A.IntendedAudience
Whattypeofaudienceistheauthoraddressing?
Isthepublicationaimedataspecializedorageneralaudience?
Isthissourcetooelementary,tootechnical,tooadvanced,orjustrightforyourneeds?
B.ObjectiveReasoning
Istheinformationcoveredfact,opinion,orpropaganda?
Itisnotalwayseasytoseparatefactfromopinion.Factscanusuallybeverified;opinions,thoughtheymaybebasedonfactualinformation,evolvefromtheinterpretationoffacts.Skilledwriterscanmakeyouthinktheirinterpretationsarefacts.
Doestheinformationappeartobevalidandwell-researched,orisitquestionableandunsupportedbyevidence?
Assumptionsshouldbereasonable.Noteerrorsoromissions.
Aretheideasandargumentsadvancedmoreorlessinlinewithotherworksyouhavereadonthesametopic?
Themoreradicallyanauthordepartsfromtheviewsofothersinthesamefield,themorecarefullyandcriticallyyoushouldscrutinizehisorherideas.
Istheauthor'spointofviewobjectiveandimpartial?
Isthelanguagefreeofemotion-arousingwordsandbias?
C.Coverage
Doestheworkupdateothersources,substantiateothermaterialsyouhaveread,oraddnewinformation?
Doesitextensivelyormarginallycoveryourtopic?
Youshouldexploreenoughsourcestoobtainavarietyofviewpoints.
Isthematerialprimaryorsecondaryinnature?
Primarysourcesaretherawmaterialoftheresearchprocess.Secondarysourcesarebasedonprimarysources.Forexample,ifyouwereresearchingKonradAdenauer'sroleinrebuildingWestGermanyafterWorldWarII,Adenauer'sownwritingswouldbeoneofmanyprimarysourcesavailableonthistopic.OthersmightincluderelevantgovernmentdocumentsandcontemporaryGermannewspaperarticles.Scholarsusethisprimarymaterialtohelpgeneratehistoricalinterpretations--asecondarysource.Books,encyclopediaarticles,andscholarlyjournalarticlesaboutAdenauer'sroleareconsideredsecondarysources.Inthesciences,journalarticlesandconferenceproceedingswrittenbyexperimentersreportingtheresultsoftheirresearchareprimarydocuments.Choosebothprimaryandsecondarysourceswhenyouhavetheopportunity.
D.WritingStyle
Isthepublicationorganizedlogically?
Arethemainpointsclearlypresented?
Doyoufindthetexteasytoread,orisitstiltedorchoppy?
Istheauthor'sargumentrepetitive?
E.EvaluativeReviews
Locatecriticalreviewsofbooksinareviewingsource,suchasBookReviewIndex,BookReviewDigest,ORPeriodicalAbstracts.Isthereviewpositive?
Isthebookunderreviewconsideredavaluablecontributiontothefield?
Doesthereviewermentionotherbooksthatmightbebetter?
Ifso,locatethesesourcesformoreinformationonyourtopic.
EvaluatingInternetResearchSources
Thecentralworkoflifeisinterpretation."--Proverb
Introduction:
TheDiversityofInformation
InformationisaCommodityAvailableinManyFlavors
Thinkaboutthemagazinesectioninyourlocalgrocerystore.Ifyoureachoutwithyoureyesclosedandgrabthefirstmagazineyoutouch,youareaboutaslikelytogetasupermarkettabloidasyouarearespectedjournal(actuallymorelikely,sincemanyrespectedjournalsdon'tfarewellingrocerystores).Nowimaginethatyourgrocerissoaccommodatingthatheletsanyoneintownprintupamagazineandputitinthemagazinesection.Nowifyoureachoutblindly,youmightgettheElvisLiveswithAliensGazettejustaseasilyasAtlanticMonthlyorTime.
WelcometotheInternet.AsIhopemyanalogymakesclear,thereisanextremelywidevarietyofmaterialontheInternet,ranginginitsaccuracy,reliability,andvalue.Unlikemosttraditionalinformationmedia(books,magazines,organizationaldocuments),noonehastoapprovethecontentbeforeitismadepublic.It'syourjobasasearcher,then,toevaluatewhatyoulocate,inordertodeterminewhetheritsuitsyourneeds.
InformationExistsonaContinuumofReliabilityandQuality
InformationiseverywhereontheInternet,existinginlargequantitiesandcontinuouslybeingcreatedandrevised.Thisinformationexistsinalargevarietyofkinds(facts,opinions,stories,interpretations,statistics)andiscreatedformanypurposes(toinform,topersuade,tosell,topresentaviewpoint,andtocreateorchangeanattitudeorbelief).Foreachofthesevariouskindsandpurposes,informationexistsonmanylevelsofqualityorreliability.Itrangesfromverygoodtoverybadandincludeseveryshadeinbetween.
GettingStarted:
ScreeningInformation
Pre-evaluation
Thefirststageofevaluatingyoursourcestakesplacebeforeyoudoanysearching.Takeaminutetoaskyourselfwhatexactlyyouarelookingfor.Doyouwantfacts,opinions(authoritativeorjustanyone's),reasonedarguments,statistics,narratives,eyewitnessreports,descriptions?
Isthepurposeofyourresearchtogetnewideas,tofindeitherfactualorreasonedsupportforaposition,tosurveyopinion,orsomethingelse?
Onceyoudecideonthis,youwillbeabletoscreensourcesmuchmorequicklybytestingthemagainstyourresearchgoal.If,forexample,youarewritingaresearchpaper,andifyouarelookingforbothfactsandwell-arguedopinionstosupportorchallengeaposition,youwillknowwhichsourcescanbequicklypassedbyandwhichdeserveasecondlook,simplybyaskingwhethereachsourceappearstoofferfactsandwell-arguedopinions,orjustunsupportedclaims.
SelectSourcesLikelytobeReliable
Becomingproficientatselectingsourceswillrequireexperience,ofcourse,butevenabeginningresearchercantakeafewminutestoask,"Whatsourceorwhatkindofsourcewouldbethemostcredibleforprovidinginformationinthisparticularcase?
"Whichsource
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