This document discusses strategies for evaluating information found online about the "Burning Times" period. It notes that popular estimates of deaths during this period range from millions to tens of thousands, with most scholars estimating tens of thousands. Websites giving higher death tolls tend to use more emotive language and blame the Catholic Church, while those with lower estimates aim to correct misconceptions and provide author credentials. The document encourages comparing sources and considering author expertise, references, consistency with other sources, and potential biases to assess reliability. It emphasizes consulting academic resources and asking who wrote the source, when, and why to critically evaluate conflicting information online.

1. Encouraging Critical
Thinking Online
Unit 1
Checking Facts and
Gathering Opinions

2. When and what were the
‘Burning Times’? How many
people died as a result?
• Find a selection of websites that
address this question
• Record your search strategy and
what you find on the worksheet
• Comment on any notable features
of the sites or answers you discover

3. When and what were the
‘Burning Times’?
• The phrase refers to the
persecution of people accused of
witchcraft in the early modern
period (ca. 1450-1700)
– A Google search for define:“Burning
Times” produces a range of
definitions, including this glossary

4. When and what were the
‘Burning Times’?
• However:
– In England and America, most people
convicted of witchcraft were hanged
– In Scotland and on the continent,
burning was more common, but
victims were rarely burnt alive – they
were usually executed by other means
first

5. When and what were the
‘Burning Times’?
• Many academics prefer to avoid the
term
– Instead, more neutral terms such as
‘early modern persecution of witches’
or ‘witch hunts’ are preferred
– But the term is still in frequent use in
the neo-Pagan community

6. How many people died as a
result?
• Some popular estimates are as high
as nine million
• Most scholarly investigations put
the figure at a few tens of
thousands
– Many websites reflect the scholarly
research, but there are also sites
which still give inflated figures

7. Example websites giving high
estimates
• The website Witch Prickers
suggests “a maximum estimate of
13 million dead and a minimum
estimate of 4 million”
• Wiccan Terms and Definitions and
the Wiccan Dictionary both suggest
nine million

8. Example websites giving lower
estimates
• Religious Tolerance.org suggests
between 50,000 and 100,000
• The article
‘Falsehoods of the Burning Times’
suggests 60,000
• Wicca: For the Rest of Us suggests
between 40,000 and 100,000

9. Compare and contrast
• Look at the example sites and
consider:
– Other than in the figures they give,
how do these sites differ?
– Who wrote these sites? What are their
credentials?
– Are sources/references given?

10. Compare and contrast
• There is a significant difference in
tone
– Articles quoting higher numbers often
use more emotive language
– Those giving lower numbers are
frequently couched as attempts to set
the record straight

11. Compare and contrast
• There may also be a marked
difference in the picture painted
– Sites giving higher numbers are more
likely to identify the victims as Pagans
or followers of ‘the Old Religion’
– The Catholic Church is more likely to
be blamed

12. Compare and contrast
• However, sites giving lower
estimates are not immune from
error
– For example, Religious Tolerance.org
implies that alleged witches were
routinely burned alive

13. Compare and contrast
• Sites with lower estimates more
frequently give information about
the author
– From Religious Tolerance.org
– From Wicca: For the Rest of Us
• But this isn’t universally the case

14. Compare and contrast
• Sites on this topic are frequently
written by people with a keen
personal interest rather than an
academic background in the area
• The occasional source is listed, but
full references are rarely given

15. Alternative search strategies
• Search using terms favoured by
academics
– Phrases like “witch hunt” and “
witch craze” produce slightly different
results
– Some more academic sites – e.g.
The Witch Hunts, by Prof. Brian A.
Pavlac – but still a fairly high
proportion of non-scholarly material

16. Alternative search strategies
• Use more specific search terms
– Phrases like “witch hunt scholarship”
or “witch hunt scholarly research”
produce some useful hits
– But not all the material is helpful: some
is irrelevant, some only suited to in-
depth research, and some requires
subscription

17. Alternative search strategies
• Consult a gateway
– An academic gateway site such as
Intute offers hand-selected resources
– Searches give fewer results, but
they’re more likely to be what you’re
looking for

18. Alternative search strategies
• Searching Intute for “Burning Times”, ‘
witch hunt’, or ‘witch craze’ gives a small
number of (mostly) relevant results
• A description of each site aids the
process of determining what’s most
useful
• Also offered are additional features such
as Limelight articles

19. Alternative search strategies
• The hits include Jenny Gibbons’s
informative essay
‘Recent Developments in the Study of the Grea
• Gives the author’s credentials and
mentions her sources (though still
lacks detailed references)

20. Summary - key things to note
• Popular and scholarly answers may
vary widely
• It’s useful to consult a variety of
sources
• Checking where the information
given is drawn from is also wise

21. Why might we find conflicting
answers to a question?
• There may be real uncertainty
about the answer
• Authorities may disagree
• There may be multiple ways of
interpreting a question

22. Why might we find conflicting
answers to a question?
• Some sources may be more up to
date than others
• Answers may vary in precision
• Some sources may simply be
wrong

23. Questions to ask when
assessing sources
• Who is the author?
– An individual or an institution?
– What are the author’s credentials?
• Is this a scholarly resource, or a
more informal one?
• How up to date is this source?

24. Questions to ask when
assessing sources
• Are there reasons to doubt the
reliability of this source?
– Does it include information I know to
be false?
– Does it contradict itself or use poor
reasoning?
– Is it biased towards a particular view?

25. Questions to ask when
assessing sources
• Is the information provided
confirmed by other sources?
– Are references provided?
– Do other websites agree? (A major
advantage of the Web is that many
sources can be compared quickly and
easily.)

26. Remember the three Ws
• WHO wrote this site?
– Is the author a trustworthy source?
• WHEN was it written?
– Is it up to date?
• WHY was it written?
– Does the author have an axe to grind?

27. This slideshow is part of
Encouraging Critical Thinking Online,
a set of free teaching resources
designed to develop
students’ analytic abilities,
using the Web as source material.
For the full set, please visit
Intute Training:
http://www.intute.ac.uk/training/