Source Credibility

Source Credibility

What signs indicate that a source is credible?

What signs indicate that a source is not credible?

Think, Pair, Share:

??

A Source is Credible if……it is written by someone with a good

reputation in the field in which they are writing. For example, we assume a book about

Beethoven is credible if it is written by a Music History professor from a university.

Additionally, a source is more credible if it has been peer-reviewed. This means that other

scholars/experts on the topic have read and approved the piece of writing, confirming that

it is good.

5 QuestionsTo Check if a Source is Credible:

#1) Who published it?

#3) Why did they write it? #4) When was it written? #5) Who is the intended audience of the source?

#2) Who wrote it?

#1) Who published it? Organizations and companies publish texts. If it was published by an educational organization, you can assume it is credible. If it was published by a university press, professional society, scientific publisher, or a peer-reviewed journal, it is credible. If it was published by an individual person, you need to seriously

question the authority that person has on the topic they are writing about. Always check to see if the source you are using

has a sponsor (an organization that pays them to promote something). If the publisher has a sponsor, be aware of the bias that sponsorship will create. Ask yourself: is there an

organization that is in charge of this site’s content, or that funds the site’s operation?

#2) Who WROTE it? The author is the person who actually wrote the text. Is the

author affiliated with a university or another institution? What is the author's education level? Has the author written many other works on the same topic? Has the author's work been cited by

other professionals before? If so, the author is credible. You can do an online search of the author's name to help you

decide if he/she is a credible source. Online, some sites have only one author, while others have many authors who may or may not use their real names. Some sites have no obvious

author – their content may be written by a number of people who do not get authorship credit. It’s generally best not to trust any information you find on the Internet until you can at least

determine who wrote it.

#3) Why was it written? Every author has a purpose for writing a text, and every

organization has a purpose for publishing a text. Try and see if you can infer both of these purposes. Is the purpose to inform

and explain about something? To evaluate and judge something? To analyze and interpret something? To argue in

favor or against something? To convince you of something? To entertain people? To make you feel a certain emotion? To represent and reflect reality? To advertise and promote

something? To make money?

These are not only purposes that exist…when you look at a text or at a website in general, try to see if you can use context

clues to find the purpose behind it.

#4) When was it written? If the text is old, it might contain information that is no longer

agreed-upon. In some disciplines, material can become outdated very swiftly. In others, texts can continue to be

considered valuable for longer periods of time. Always search to see if there is a more recent interpretation of the information you are reading. If you have an article that seems old, search

to see if other authors (including recent ones) still widely agree with the information stated in that article. In general, if the text is over ten years old, you should check to make sure the ideas

in the text are still accurate and relevant by comparing it to more recent texts on the same topic.

#5) Intended Audience? If the audience is academic in nature, your source is more credible. If the audience is something like fundamentalist Mormon housewives or Neo-nazi activists, there will be an

evident bias in the writing that renders it less credible. Several factors can lead to bias, such as the religion, political affiliation,

geography, or nationality of the author or publisher. To help determine if your source is too biased for use, consider the author, the audience, the tone, and the word choice of the

writing. For example, if your source refers to ISIS as "freedom fighters" instead of terrorists, you should be able to detect the

bias of the author. Even if the author or publisher is credible and the source is created by an educational organization, consider the intended age of the audience as well: if the text is written for young children, the information will be over-simplified (and over-

simplification can lead to errors).

URLs Provide a Clue:.com usually means the owner is a commercial entity (for-profit organization). .org tends to be owned by a nonprofit organization. .net is a network (for instance, an Internet service provider). .gov is a government owned website, and can only be owned by an official government. .mil is a government military website, and can only be owned by the military. .edu is an educational organization, and can only be owned by an official educational organization.


In practice, anyone can purchase a .com, .org or .net domain name, and

individuals often buy a .org or .net domain when their preferred .com is not available. Not all .coms are commercial, but, all large commercial organizations will have .com

addresses.


Information on a .gov or .mil site has the backing of the government or the military. It may be difficult to find a single author for these sites. This does not necessarily mean that information on these sites is true, but it does mean that the information reflects the views of the government or military in

a country.


Keep in mind that students and faculty can both have personal Web sites with .edu

extensions, so be aware of whether the site is an official school Web site, or a personal site! Personal sites will often have the user’s

name in the URL.

Wikipedia:The credibility of Wikipedia articles is often debated. You

will have college professors who will allow you to use it, and others who will not.

Reasons Why Wikipedia is Not Credible:1. The authors are anonymous, and anyone can edit Wikipedia articles. You have no way of knowing if the author is an expert in their field.

2. Administrators on Wikipedia have the power to delete or disallow comments or articles they disagree with and support the viewpoints they approve. In 2003, one administrator banned more than 2,000 contributors with opinions that opposed his own.



Reasons Why Wikipedia is Not Credible:3. “Vandalism” of articles occurs, and can go undetected for months. People can add false information or change information to make it inaccurate.

4. The number of Wikipedia articles is growing, but the number of official editors is shrinking. This means that less peer-review of articles is happening, and the editors are becoming less diverse.



Reasons Why Wikipedia is Not Credible:5. Wikipedia tells us not to trust them! Wikipedia says, “We do not expect you to trust us.” It adds that it is “not a primary source” and that “because some articles may contain errors,” you should “not use Wikipedia to make critical decisions.” Finally, “Users should be aware that not all articles are of encyclopedic quality from the start: they may contain false or debatable information.”

Wikipedia:However, Wikipedia is an AWESOME starting point for your

research! Read a Wikipedia article to get an overview of your topic, then, use the sources and links at the bottom of

the page to find some credible sources:

Wikipedia:Also, some Wikipedia articles are better than others.

Star Icon Means you are reading a “featured article.” These are the best articles on Wikipedia, and are chosen for accuracy,

neutrality, completeness, and formatting.

Green Plus Sign Means you are reading a “good article.” These are not quite good enough to be called featured articles.

Gold Padlock Means you are reading a “locked protected” article. These are the only articles that can’t be automatically edited by

Wikipedia users! All edits must be approved by Wikipedia staff before becoming live on the page.

Any Other Color Padlock Means the page is semi-protected, which in most cases still means that any Wikipedia user can edit the page,

and the changes will become immediately live.

5 QuestionsTo Check if a Source is Credible:

#1) Who published it?

#3) Why did they write it? #4) When was it written? #5) Who is the intended audience of the source?

#2) Who wrote it?

Activity

http://blackholeresearch.blogspot.com

http://www.blackholeresearch.gov

http://www.columbia.edu/blackholeresearch

http://www.columbia.edu/blackholeresearch/martin_green

http://www.blackholeresearch.com

Pick out the most credible and least credible websites from this list. Discuss with a neighbor.

Education

Source Credibility