There is no denying that students are bombarded daily with an exorbitant amount of data. It comes at them in every direction and it does not look like it will be lessening any time soon. As a matter of fact, I predict it will only get worse. More and more data is flung at them every day. With the Internet being a highly enriched source of information where one can find information about anything from cartoons to x-rays, determining what information is credible and what is not is a time-consuming task. It is like synthesizing iron from the iron core, where steps involved in the synthesis play a very critical role. So what is a student to do in this age of information overload when confronted with doing research? How do they sift through the enormous amount of information? This paper will discuss what criteria should be considered when gathering evidence. There are numerous pieces that any student can look for to deem a source reliable. Here are a few to mention and that will be discussed and compared: author’s qualifications, currency of the information, accuracy of information, the writing style, is there objective reasoning about the information and lastly intuition about information. After I explore these topics in depth and point out the pros and cons of each category, I will impress upon you the answer to this question: What is the best criteria to consider when looking for good credible information when writing a research paper? First, let’s examine the author’s qualification on the subject. This undoubtedly indicates that the information holds weight and is trustworthy. The scholarly journals, government documents, scientific journals and medical contents written by scholars, professionals and experts in their field with... ... middle of paper ... ...ke decisions, to get to conclusions and to apply critical thinking while surfing through the information on the web. If students are still not sure, then they can seek assistance from reference librarians in this matter because any information could be challenged or is likely to be challenged. Check, if information is biased or not, is by checking the contents of the article. Check, if the author is admiring excessively or angry outburst about anything or giving in excess of positive or negative statements, it shows untruthfulness (Gil). If the author is providing both in favor and contradictory information about the topic then he is not biased. For example, Politico.com is the most unbiased and regularly updated site for news; where as the CNN and Fox news is one of the biased sites; CNN covers democratic stories and Fox news covers republican stories (Greenwood).
Let’s start by taking a look at the bias side of electronic media. Take for instance the difference between Fox News and CBS. Both are news stations, both are intended to bring us the news, yet the way in which each station presents its stories to their viewers could not be more different. Few would argue the fact that Fox news appeals to the conservative audience while a station such as CBS would tend to be more liberal. This creates bias. To illustrate my point, let us take a look at how these 2 news stations covered the very same story in completely different ways.
Students face “an ocean of information” today, much of it of poor quality, so a better approach would be to teach students how to “triangulate” a source like Wikipedia, so they could use other sources to tell whether a given entry could be trusted. “I think our goal should be to equip students with the critical thinking skills to judge.”
By using a recently published study, the article sets up the system of expertise to lend credibility to its headline and make a very persuasive (at first glance) claim. Scientists have high credibility and prestige in our society, and the article plays greatly on this assumption.
Paul, Richard, and Linda Elder. How to Detect Media Bias and Propaganda in National and World News. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Criticalthinkingforbusiness.org. Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2006. Web.
- Unfortunatly, all research papers have a limitation to their studies. Some of the limits I may come across is, lack of information, lack of respectable and trusted articles or books. These two will be my biggest concern when writing this paper. The way I plan to try and overcome this obstacle is by gathering all the information I have before hand, and understand the limitations I may occur before I begin writing my paper. This way, I will know my limits while writing my paper and not overstep my boundaries.
The news media rejects the fact that they are biased. They claim that they are the “middle of the road,” and are neutral on the stories that they cover. Publishers also claim that they are the watchdog for the political system, and they make sure that the system is free of any corruption, or wrongdoing. Th...
Writing can be very frustrating; laying your ideas out on paper so that others can grasp the concept you are trying to convey is a very difficult task. In Writing 101 I have learned how to formulate good theses that are arguable and also how to validate articles that have to do with my topic. The most important element of a paper is the thesis statement. It captures the reader's attention and tells them what the essay is about. Having a well-structured thesis along with evidence to support that thesis are the main ingredients to a well-written essay. I have also learned how important it is to research an author’s background to ensure their credibility. This is a very important step in writing because today we can find information on a topic, however, it is not valid. By researching the author, we can see if he or she is an expert in the area and so this would make his or her information more credible. There is a ...
This essay aims to demonstrate an understanding of the research process and use of evidence in nursing practice. The research article by Rostami et al. (2014) titled “Supporting adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A qualitative study” will critically examine using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) tool. With the guide of this tool, the chosen study will be assessed in terms of strengths and limitations, the validity and reliability of its findings as well as established an insight of the research method and its relevance to nursing practice.
To have a good paper you need good, reliable sources. Smithson states that if papers that are endorsed by corporations and government are good and reliable. Also if it is reviewed by experts in that field or published by a well known publisher. If a company, or person that might have bias writes the paper then one should find additional information to support it.
Media Awareness Network, "How to Detect Bias in the News." Accessed May 11, 2012. http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/broadcast_news/bw_bias_in_the_news.cfm.
Can a reader recognize if a source is credible by just the first paragraph of an article? Credibility of an article can be identified by where it’s found, who wrote it, and what research did the author use to back up the article’s information. Jane E. Brody has successfully demonstrated credibility to the public, as well as kept readers of The New York Times up to date on health studies, since the beginning of her journalistic career.
The use of evidence-base practice (EBP) has steadily grown over the past thirty years, but some hospital systems struggle with politics and organizational cultures that avoid change. It is important for health care leaders to remove barriers and provide an organizational framework of support to promote the use of best practices (Huber, 2014-a). In this post, I will discuss how infrastructure and culture affect implementing evidence-base practice and discuss the how evidence-base practice changes occur in my organization.
Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
For example, in my included discussion posts and essays regarding the book Outliers, I identified biased and/or skewed evidence that Gladwell employed to make his arguments appear to be stronger than they were. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed Outliers despite Gladwell’s lack of strong evidence to support his claims. Additionally, I used critical thinking when I collected information from sources to compose my research report. For instance, in the “Research Limitations” section of my research report, I discussed biased and insufficient evidence from my sources. Withal it is important to think critically when conducting research because authors can attempt to manipulate readers’ thinking to persuade readers to take their side on a topic. In addition to thinking critically, citing legitimate sources, and unearthing biases I used Anthony Weston’s A Rulebook for Arguments to formulate correlations as I created my research
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...