Company Reports
Evaluating Source Material
Welcome to the Information Age
- Multiple Sources on similar topics
Validity
Accuracy
Objectivity
Replicability
Where do you look
Examples 9/11
- http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/reich.html
- http://watch.pair.com/reich.html
- http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/Index.html
- http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/index.htm
- http://www.forward.com/articles/2437/
- http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2550646/the-sacrifice-of-truth-to-power.thtml
- http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/
- http://noosphere.princeton.edu/terror.html
- http://www.adl.org/911/celebration.asp
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/july-dec01/video.html
- wackyiraqi.com/hate/anotherday.stm
- http://media.www.chicagoflame.com/media/storage/paper519/news/2005/02/15/Opinions/U.Of-Colorado.Professor.Feels.U.s.Deserved.911-863171.shtml
- http://www.myiwc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2580
- http://0-web.ebscohost.com.catalog.lib.cmich.edu/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=105&sid=4d4c9946-1a7c-4e5d-b7ea-1232449d2cf9%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=mth&AN=7367060
What kind of information do you want?
- Facts
- Opinions
- News Report
- Research Studies
- Analysis
- Personal Reflection
- History
Where will you look?
- Library
- Internet
- Academic Journal
- Newspaper
- Government Record
- Company Website
- Books
How do you evaluate?
- Author
- Institution
- Timeliness
- Publisher
- Audience
What about the author?
- Reputation of the Author
- Educational Background, and relevance to field
- Is the person an expert
- Who has previously referenced this author
- Who is the author associated with
The institution
- What are the goals of the organization
- Does it monitor publication
- Is there bias, are they trying to convince you?
Timeliness
- How recent is the source?
Hitler was Time Magazines man of the year in 1938.
- Does it matter?
- Are there versions or revisions available
Publisher
- Are they reputable
- Is the group recognized in the field
- Is it appropriate for this type of information
- Is there a review process
Audience
- Who is the intended audience
- What is the point of view
- Too scholarly or specific
- Too popular and general
Checking the material
- Do they reference other experts
- Is their evidence for opinions and facts
- Objective or emotional language
- Does it reference primary source material
- Is it accurate
- Too one sided
Internet Sources
- Anyone can post anything
- No fact checking exists
- If an author is listed use the authorship test
- Has it been copied from another source
- Is there monitoring and review
- Is it objective
- Accuracy of information
- How did you link into the site
Examples 9/11
- http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/reich.html
- http://watch.pair.com/reich.html
- http://www.gpoaccess.gov/911/Index.html
- http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB196/index.htm
- http://www.forward.com/articles/2437/
- http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2550646/the-sacrifice-of-truth-to-power.thtml
- http://www.motherjones.com/bush_war_timeline/
- http://noosphere.princeton.edu/terror.html
- http://www.adl.org/911/celebration.asp
- http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/july-dec01/video.html
- wackyiraqi.com/hate/anotherday.stm
- http://media.www.chicagoflame.com/media/storage/paper519/news/2005/02/15/Opinions/U.Of-Colorado.Professor.Feels.U.s.Deserved.911-863171.shtml
- http://www.myiwc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2580
- http://0-web.ebscohost.com.catalog.lib.cmich.edu/ehost/detail?vid=7&hid=105&sid=4d4c9946-1a7c-4e5d-b7ea-1232449d2cf9%40sessionmgr104&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=mth&AN=7367060
You are responsible
- Only you can answer the above questions
- You are responsible for the data you use
- Watch for skewness and kurtosis
- Especially watch for bad sources
- Remember to always document your source material