last updated 10/28/2014

Lessons from the Information Evaluation (“Fact-checking”) Assignment
from the Teams of 2013 (in titalics) and 2014 (in bold)

1.      The most important things I learned about fact-checking media presentations/articles stories are:

-- The truth can be stretched by using quotations out of context or in partial form.
-- Often authors with a “point” to make use facts selective (only including those that support their case).

      --  It is difficult to "fact check" when there is no bibliographic information.

      --  It is helpful to find a source that has a different viewpoint on the issue to use as a fact-check source.

      -- The choice of search terms in fact checking matters a great deal.  Determining the best search terms increases your chances of discovering error and bias a lot.

      -- Different sorts of facts and conclusions require different checking strategies.

2.      The most important things I learned about how to determine if an author is reasonable and fair on the overall points he makes are:

-- In determining author fairness it helps to discover if other sources tend to agree to the general conclusions or not.

       --  Does the author use sources himself that are reliable/credible?

      -- Does the author have experience or abilities that seem appropriate to draw his conclusions?

            -- Try to discover if an author has taken facts or quotations out of context.

            --  Be suspicious of authors who select only a single item of data from a large study or pool of data.

            --  Check carefully on authors who advocate for controversial topics.

              --  Determine who pays the author and is that likely to influence his/her choice of facts and conclusions. 

3.      The most valuable things I learned about using various resources in searching for information (strategy) are:

-- Use Lexis-Nexis (or other newspaper database) expecially to check local and recent facts.
-- Go to Wikipedia for general background and use their sources.
-- Try to find the author’s sources if you can.  If sources are fairly readily available, that suggests credible facts.
-- Try contacting the author directly by email.
-- Be sure to get “good” search terms for the topic.

      --  Academic, peer-reviewed resources tend to be better quality.

      --  Use multiple fields and multiple journals for a broader (more accurate) perspective

      -- "Recent" information may not have confirming sources in credible publications because the time lag from when the article is finished and when it is published can be long in credible and academic publications.

4.      The most useful things I learned about working in a team on a research project are:

-- Give Google Docs and Presentations (Google Drive) a try with all team access to the files.
-- Get a firm shared understanding of the task pretty early on.
-- Use individual expertise and background in picking and dividing tasks,
       -- but use multiple team members views in drawing conclusions.
-- Try to find a balance between over-control by the leader(s) and some slacking or free-loading.