# data[].attributes.headline
Discussion Topic: Have any headlines or trending topics on social media been misconstrued and amplified?

# data[].attributes.subject
Discussion Topic: Have any headlines or trending topics on social media been misconstrued and amplified?

# data[].attributes.body
Using at least two credible sources, determine if your chosen topic is being portrayed accurately.  Post your findings here.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Basics: How to Evaluate Online Sources

# data[].attributes.subject
The Basics: How to Evaluate Online Sources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Skip to main content

It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

Evaluating Sources for Credibility (3 Min)

Authored by librarians at North Carolina State University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Guides: How to Evaluate Information Sources: The Basics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Skip to main content It looks like you're using Internet Explorer 11 or older. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy.

political literacy companion site to the award-winning FactCheck.org. The site provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular. Video resources point out deception and incivility in political rhetoric.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Guides: How to Evaluate Information Sources: How to Spot Fake News

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. political literacy companion site to the award-winning FactCheck.org. The site provides resources designed to help viewers recognize flaws in arguments in general and political ads in particular. Video resources point out deception and incivility in political rhetoric.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When was the information published or posted?

Has the information been revised or updated?

Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?

Are the links functional?

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

Who is the intended audience?

Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?

Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Authority: the source of the information

Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?

Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?

What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?

What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic? Can they be verified?

Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?

Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content, and

Where does the information come from?

Is the information supported by evidence?

Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?

Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?

Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: the reason the information exists

What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?

Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?

Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?

Follow the money. Who stands to gain from this?

Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

What clues does the format give to the purpose, audience, quality?

Note: the CRAAP test was developed by librarians at CSU Chico. See link on left.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Guides: How to Evaluate Information Sources: CRAAP Test

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When was the information published or posted? Has the information been revised or updated? Is the information current or out-of date for your topic? Are the links functional? Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Would you trust information unsupported by facts or logical reasoning? A biased author may not pay attention to all the facts or develop a logical argument to support his or her opinions.

is when a statement reflects a partiality, preference, or prejudice for or against a person, object, or idea. Much of what you read and hear expresses a bias. Bias is when a writer or speaker uses a selection of facts, choice of words, and the quality and tone of description, to convey a particular feeling or attitude. Its purpose is to convey a certain attitude or point of view toward the subject. As you read or listen to biased materials, keep the following questions in mind:

What facts has the author omitted?

What additional information is necessary?

What words create positive or negative impressions?

What impression would I have if different words had been used?

Biased information tries to change your mind, how you think. Being aware of bias and knowing how to identify, analyze, and assimilate biased information properly is a skill to be treasured. It puts you in charge of how you think instead of the print and media world. (see Cuesta College Critically Evaluating the Logic and Validity of Information)

What are some indicators of bias on a web page?

The language of the document is often extreme; statements have all or nothing connotations.

The argument appeals more to the emotions than to logic.

Things are worded with the intent to oversimplify or over generalize.

The author wishes to present a limited view of the topic.

You should expect bias on webpages that are dedicated to selling you something. Additionally, webpages dedicated to controversial topics are likely to have a bias.
Questions to keep in mind as you seek indicators of bias:

What is the author's political point of view?

What does the author stand to gain?

Who is paying for the website?

Does the author present alternate points of view?
If so, are those views presented objectively, or with scorn

Authored by Lora K. Kaisler and Dennis O'Connor of the 21st Century Information Fluency Project. Illinois Schools.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research Guides: How to Evaluate Information Sources: Identify Bias

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This guide will inform you about which criteria to use to evaluate resources

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
🌍Big Idea Overview

Big Idea 3 is focused on understanding 🤔 the complexity of an issue by looking at the multiple viewpoints 👀 that people have on it. Understandably, this Big Idea may seem smaller compared to something like BI 2, however, BI 3 does hold an important place in Seminar.

One of the things that will turn a just okay argumentative paper into a great argumentative paper is how well you address the multiple perspectives and complexities of an issue.

Image Courtesy of Giphy.

🧐 What is Perspective?

Before we even jump into the Essential Questions, we need to figure out what perspective even means in the context of Seminar.

There are really two ways that you can think about perspective:

The viewpoint 🔍 that someone has on a particular argument.

For example: If I am arguing that school shouldn't take place on Friday, my perspective is that school shouldn't happen on Friday. Easy enough, right?

The particular way that someone has chosen to look at an idea.

This is when the idea of lenses 👓 comes into play. There are lots of ways that you can choose to look at a research question beyond whether you support an argument or you don't. When you look at a question through a lens, you are taking a unique perspective on it.

Some examples of lenses are:

By choosing to look at your research question through the historical lens, you will acquire different perspectives than someone who looked at it through the ethical lens.

Typically you will use these lenses when you write your Individual Research Report. In Performance Task 1, you and your group are tasked with coming up with a real-world problem that you want answered. However, it is up to you to look at that problem (or research question) through a unique perspective (or lens 🔍).

These lenses 🔍 will inform the type of research that you do and the way that you will present it.

Quick Tip: When you go to write your IRR, make sure that you pick lenses that fit your research question. Don't feel like someone has to do a historical lens or has to do a political lens. Pick the ones that work best for your group!

🧐 The Essential Questions of Big Idea 3

Essential Questions Overview

Alright! Now that we have defined perspective, let's jump into the EQ's. 🤔

While it is your job to argue for one side over the other, you still need to address that other side and highlight why it's relevant. This Big Idea is all about building the skill set that will allow you to be successful when analyzing multiple perspectives.

First, let's look at the Essential Questions 🤔:

What patterns or trends can be identified among the arguments about the issue?

What are the implications and/or consequences of accepting or rejecting a particular argument?

How can I connect the multiple perspectives? What other issues, questions, or topics do they relate to?

How can I explain contradictions within or between arguments?

From whose perspective is this information being presented, and how does that affect my evaluation?

Quick Tip: You will be analyzing perspective in everything that you do for Seminar. The way that you look at perspective might be different depending on what you're doing, but you should always be thinking about perspective.

👀 Using the Essential Questions to Understand Perspective

Unlike the other Big Idea EQs where you want consider them but not actively use them, you really want to use these EQs as a guide to developing proper perspective. Think of them almost like steps that you need to take when approaching an argument or research question.

Let's use an example here and look at how the EQ's can help us better understand perspective. I'm going to give a fairly generic research question 🤔 and show how we would work through it using the EQs.

Image Courtesy of Giphy

Question: Should the average school 🏫 day be four days a week? 👨‍🎓

EQ 1: First step is to find some basic arguments surrounding the question. This should go beyond simply that the school week should be shorter or shouldn't be shorter. Instead, look for arguments that attempt to give reason to why it should or why it shouldn't. Then, look for commonalities. Do they use scientific data? Historical examples? Social reasoning?

EQ 2: What are the implications of accepting one argument over another? So in other words, why might I accept argument A instead of argument B? Does argument B make valid points that still need to be considered?

EQ 3: Are there any arguments that agree that school weeks should be shorter, but for different reasons? Can I maybe connect those two perspectives? Also, what else does this research question impact? I could maybe look at mental health in students or the importance of extra curricular activities. These aren't my original research question, but they do relate to it.

EQ 4: Is there anything within the arguments that I looked at that just doesn't make sense? You should be looking for pitfalls within arguments. No argument is going to be airtight and it's important that you recognize where those shortcomings are. Someone may argue about the importance of a four day school week, but not mention what parents will do with kids on that extra day off.

Individual Research Report

EQ 5: Who is making the argument and why are they making it? Knowing who the author of an argument is will always help you understand their perspective. Is a teacher arguing? A student? A doctor? A parent? This will inform the bias of the argument and help you better understand the perspective.

Looking at the IRR rubric we can see that 20% of your grade will come from analyzing perspective.

Team Multimedia Presentation

Note that you need to be drawing connections between the multiple perspectives!

While this row in the TMP rubric does not outright mention "perspectives," it does talk about the team's ability to look at things like limitations and implications. Remember, these are all things that you should have been making note of early in the research process.

✍️How BI 3 Relates to the Exam
Individual Written Argument
Evaluating perspectives is needed to be successful on all parts of the Performance Tasks and Exam. We'll be looking at the rubrics and show exactly how you'll be using it.

Like the IRR, a big focus of your IWA will be to recognize and talk about multiple perspectives. As we can see with the rubric above, you will really be putting into practice a lot of the Essential Questions that we talked about above. Things like implications, connections, and limitations are all important.

In order to ace 💯 this portion of the IWA, you should consider multiple perspectives when crafting your argument. How does your argument appeal to multiple other perspectives? Also, don't be afraid to talk about why some people may not support your argument.

Individual Multi Media Presentation
Performance Task 1

In your presentation, make sure that you talk about the multiple perspectives you considered in your IWA. You can do this when you talk about your evidence and when you talk about your argument more broadly.

Performance Task 2

👉 In Conclusion...

Perspective is important ‼️ Understanding the perspective of an argument before you start digging into research will help inform how you talk about it and how you view it.

As you write, make sure that you're including evidence from multiple perspectives and talking about how they interact together. And don't forget, you should include perspectives that disagree with you! Use them to explain why your argument is the strongest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Big Idea 3: Evaluate Multiple Perspectives | Fiveable

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Big Idea 3 is focused on understanding 🤔 the complexity of an issue by looking at the multiple viewpoints 👀 that people have on it. Understandably, this Big Idea may seem smaller compared to something like BI 2, however, BI 3 does hold an important place in Seminar.

# data[].attributes.body
Learners develop and satisfy curiosity by:
1. Reading widely and deeply in multiple formats and write and create for a variety of purposes.
2. Reflecting and questioning assumptions and possible misconceptions.
3. Engaging in inquiry-based processes for personal growth

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The definitive Internet reference source for researching urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fact-checking journalism is the heart of PolitiFact. Our core principles are independence, transparency, fairness, thorough reporting and clear writing. The reason we publish is to give citizens the information they need to govern themselves in a democracy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others on its Truth-O-Meter.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center