A lecture at the Erasmus Conference in Nacka 12th March 2018 about critical thinking and the scientic method. Focus: Good Health and Well-being (Sustainable Goal 3).

1. Evaluating information
A scientific method to use in everyday life
Maria Åsberg
Librarian, Nacka Gymnasium
Email: maria.asberg@nacka.se
Erasmus+
The sustainable city for the European citizen of 2030.
Meeting diversity through new approaches in upper secondary education
Nacka 11-17 March, 2018

2. Instant ”Do-It-Yourself” Color TV

3. ”Institute of Diet and Health”

4. If something sounds too good to be true,
it probably is.

5. Funding
research

6. The Scientific Method
Source: Wikipedia ”Scientific Method”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_method [2018-02-27]
Peer review
= a scientific article being reviewed and
approved by experts in the field in
question.

7. ”Coffee increases the risk of
cardiovascular diseases, bladder cancer
and pancreatic cancer ” (1970-1980s)
”Coffee possibly causes cancer”
(WHO 1991)
“Pregnant women should not drink more than up to
200mg/day” (EFSA 2015-)
“Coffee cuts the risk of dying from cardiovascular
diseases ” (2017)
Coffee- good or bad?
“No safety concerns for the general healthy
population (EFSA 2015-)
Source:
Karolinska Institutet ”Curious about coffee”
https://ki.se/en/research/curious-about-coffee [2018-02-27]
EFSA http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/caffeine [2018-02-27]

8. Curriculum for the upper secondary school
Students should develop their ability to think critically, examine facts and
relationships, and appreciate the consequences of different alternatives. By these
means students will come closer to scientific ways of thinking and working.
Students should also be able to orient themselves in a complex reality with its
enormous flows of information and a rapidly changing world. The ability of
students to find, acquire and apply new knowledge thus becomes important.

9. Evaluating information in everyday life

10. Quiz: ”True or false?”

11. https://kahoot.it

12. Troll farms
Conspiracy theories
Propaganda
Disinformation
Pseudoscience
Fake news
Alternative facts

13. Checklist
How to evaluate information
AUTHOR PURPOSE TIME REFERENCES
Who has produced the
information?
Is the author real or fake?
Does the author has knowledge
about this field?
What is the purpose of the
information?
Is it to inform, convince,
provoke or to sell a product?
Can you tell if the information is
fact, opinion or propaganda?
When was the information
published or updated?
Is the information relevant?
Are there any references?
A primary source is more
reliable than a secondary
source.
If a number of independent
sources contain the same
message, the credibility of the
message is strongly increased.

14. A Mistrust of Science
Climate Change Denial

16. General Public
Academic World

19. ”Google can bring you back 100,000 answers,
a librarian can bring you back the right one”
Neil Gaiman

20. References
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ne2ixE0czv6am6VpS16il68zfdPBZHl5y7k_i9Qqthw/edit?usp=sharing
Thank you!