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last updated 10/28/2014
Lessons from the Information Evaluation (“Fact-checking”) Assignment
1.
The most
important things I learned about fact-checking media
presentations/articles stories are: -- 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: -- 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: -- 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:
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