News Literacy
When doing research, you may read news articles to get background or up-to-date information on a topic. How can you tell if coverage of an event is comprehensive and reliable? Mike Caulfield, head of the Digital Polarization Initiative of the American Democracy Project, recommends applying the Four Moves or SIFT. These were designed to evaluate news stories and other posts.
The key thing to remember is that it's always a good idea to do some "external" searching after you read information of any kind - this means searching around for other sources that corroborate what you're reading, or provide more context.
How do you determine if the report you're reading is a reliable account?
What Information is Reliable?
Some information that can help you:
- Author: credentials, past work, motivation
- Remember that authority based on experience and context: I am qualified to answer questions about librarianship or research, but I am not a good authority on Biblical scholarship, or experimental cancer treatments, as I have no experience in those fields
- Publisher: how long have they been around, what else do they publish
- Funding: who funded it, conflicts of interest
- References: are there any, what are they
PracticeWhich one of these sites do you feel is a more reliable source for information on children's health? Why?
American Academy of Pediatrics American College of Pediatricians
What about:
PracticeSuppose you found this article while searching for sources. Is it reliable? Why or why not?
PracticeHow would you check these Tweets for accuracy? How would you check the knowledge and perspective of the user?
Tweet 1
Tweet 2
Tweet 3
