Using library resources is a great step towards ensuring you are using reliable information, but it's also important to know how to evaluate your sources. Section 4 introduces the final step of research before drafting: evaluating your sources for credibility and bias.
After completion of Section 4 on your journey through the Roadmap to Research, you will be able to:
In section 1, you watched a video about why the formats of information (news reports, posts, journal articles, etc.) matter. To recap:
It's our job as good researchers to know what information we're looking at, who has created it, why it was created, and to critically evaluate the credibility of the source. Watch this video created by NC State University LibrariesLinks to an external site. on how to evaluate sources for credibility.
Video credit: NC State University Libraries
As was shown in the video, there are many factors that impact credibility. Use the Credibility Spectrum below to evaluate all of the factors to choose sources for your research. Some of these may weigh heavier than other. For example, if an advocacy group for cattle farmers funded a research study this year on the health benefits of red meat, the unacknowledged bias would be more important than the date and expertise.
The video defines bias as "an inaccurate or unfair presentation of information." While that can be an outcome of bias, this definition is not fully accurate. We'll be using the definition that bias is "a tendency, inclination, or leaning towards a particular characteristic, behavior." Everyone is biased. All of the sources that you find will contain some bias, but you can be a credible source by:
Media bias is "the tendency of a news outlet to report in a way that reinforces a viewpoint..." Here are five ways that a news outlet can reinforce a viewpoint while still reporting the facts of an event:
Omission of Source Attribution: when an article makes a direct quote or claim but does not link to the original source or even say who the original source is.
Mind-Reading: when an article makes assumptions about what a person is thinking.
Both of these examples are making assumptions about what President Trump and President Obama were thinking.
Word Choice: there are many ways that a media outlet can choose words to indicate bias, such as:
Omission of Source: If a outlet makes a claim or quotes a source without linking to the source (or giving the name of the source).
While The New York Times linked to the tweet, they did not link to a source for why it was false.
Epoch Times repeatedly uses the phrase "Critics say" without giving the source for the critics.
Photo Bias: using a photo to create a positive or negative impression of a person
Stating Opinion as Fact: using subjective language to state opinions rather than facts, such as: suggests, better, is considered to be.
In this example, the journalist does not provide evidence to support why Elon Musk's decision-making is arbitrary, but instead presents his opinion that it is "seemingly arbitrary."
Bias by Omission and Story Choice: either when an article omits important details or when a media source features specific stories and omits others. This form of bias is difficult to notice in a single article and can only be discovered from reading broadly from a variety of viewpoints.
“How to Spot 16 Types of Media Bias.” AllSides, 26 Aug. 2019, https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/how-to-spot-types-of-media-bias.
Navigate back to Canvas to submit the Roadmap to Research, Section 4: Credibility Quiz
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