4. Intended for wide audience (general population)
Short articles that are not signed (no author)
Non-technical, simple writing style
Focus on current events, popular topics
Usually published daily, weekly or monthly
Popular Articles
5. Goal:
An authoritative
source, a source
that supplies some
good evidence that
allows you to trust
it.
Credibility
6. Goal:
A source that is
correct today (not
yesterday), a
source that gives
the whole truth.
Accuracy
7. Goal:
A source that
engages the
subject
thoughtfully and
reasonably,
concerned with the
truth.
Reliability
8. Goal: A source that
provides
convincing
evidence for the
claims made, a
source you can
triangulate (find at
least two other
sources that
support it).
Supportability
9. C.A.R.S. Credibility
Guidelines for
Accuracy
Reliability
evaluating sources.
Supportability
C.A.R.S. Source:
Harris, Robert. "Evaluating Internet Research Sources.“ VirtualSalt. 17
Nov. 1997. 17 Oct 2000 <http://www.virtualsalt.com/evalu8it.htm>.
13. Intended for limited audience (academic audience)
Written by scholars in the field and are usually signed
articles (not anonymous)
More complex writing style
Main purpose is to report on original research
Published bi-monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or
annually
Scholarly Articles
14. Is the article from a peer reviewed
journal?
Are any conflicts of interest stated?
Is a reference list provided?
BioTech Criteria
16. 1) Evaluate using the BioTech criteria:
1) Is the article from a peer reviewed journal?
2) Are any conflicts of interest stated?
3) Is there a reference list and how complete is it?
2) Evaluate using an additional two questions from the whiteboard.
Editor's Notes
Pre-Research: preparing to do research activities. For example, brainstorming keywords words about the topic, writing out search strategiesResearch: Choosing where to search and searching. – PASSWORD SLIPSEvaluating: doing critical thinking about the articles you’ve discovered in your research.
Yesterday we talked about briefly about different types of articles. What is a popular article.
Characteristics of a popular article. Popular articles and scholarly articles are evaluated a little bit differently. We’ll look at some criteria for popular articles and then move on to scholarly.
trustworthy source author’s credentials Is there an author? Is the page signed?Is the author qualified? An expert?Who is the sponsor?Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?Is there a link to information about the author or the sponsor?If the page includes neither a signature nor indicates a sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?evidence of quality control (grammar and spelling, editing)known or respected authority organizational support
up to datefactual detailed, exact, comprehensiveaudience and purpose reflect intentions of completeness and accuracyIs the purpose for:Advocacy or “soapbox” (tries to persuade).Informational (often has multiple viewpoints and references).Business or marketing (tries to sell).Entertainment.
fair balanced objectivereasonedno conflict of interestabsence of fallacies or slanted toneIs there any advertising on the page?**is the article attempting to stir to your emotions or your intellect?
Does the author provide references that support the claim?
What this all leads up to is CARS. A simple way of applying examining information.
If all else fails, apply the smell test. If it smells bad, it probably is bad.
Look at DHMO page, evaluate. – passes cars, fails smell testRead the article from KIRO about Monkeys and evaluate.
What are scholarly articles? What are other names for them?
Characteristics of a scholarly article.That brings usto your assignment. IN YOUR GROUPS:Share the 2-3 criteria you wrote after reading the homework about what you need to do to evaluate a scholarly article. Or brainstorm more. Pick 2 criteria to share with the class and write them on the board.
Is the article from a peer reviewed journal? (WHAT IS A PR Journal and how do you find out?)Are any conflicts of interest stated? (WHERE DO YOU FIND THAT?)Is there a reference list and how complete is it? (HOW DO YOU KNOW IF IT IS COMPLETE?) Questions: Looking at the questions on the whiteboard and the three specific to Biotech, how long would it take to evaluate a paper? Is this step you should skimp on? Why not?
Evaluate a scientific article using the three BioTech criteria. What happens when you use information from a scientific article without evaluating the article first?