RELIABILITY

We often use the word RELIABLE

in everyday life - about people,

transport, weather forecast, etc.

What does the word RELIABLE mean?

What is RELIABILITY with

regard to sources?

Reliability means how much we can

believe / trust the source OR how

accurate / dependable the source is.

Why is there a need to

check the reliability of a source?

• The writer of a source plays an important role in the creation of a source.

• How can a writer influence a source?

RELIABILITY

FACT AND OPINION

• How can we identify the ‘bias’ in an author’s work?

• In order to do so, we need to be able to tell the difference between ‘fact’ and ‘opinion’.

WHAT IS A FACT?

• Something that is true.

• Can be verified by looking up primary sources, ref. books or encyclopedia, etc.

WHAT IS AN OPINION?

• A point of view, feeling or thought that some people may agree with while others may not.

• Opinions can be spotted because the words used tend to be an exaggeration of the fact.

We often use the word RELIABLE

in everyday life - about people,

transport, weather forecast, etc.

What does the word RELIABLE mean?

What is RELIABILITY with

regard to sources?

Reliability means how much we can

believe / trust the source OR how

accurate / dependable the source is.

John and David had a fight. You are the

discipline master …

John’s father …“This big boy was hitting my boy.

John hit him in the face and made his nose bleed.

John did the right thing.”

David’s father ... “David knocked that wicked kid

down with one punch as the other kid started

the fight. ”

A student from another class... “ The two boys

were fighting. John hit David. David’s nose

started to bleed. David punched John and he fell

to the ground”

RELIABILITY

• Which account is the most reliable for telling you what happened?

• Why do you think so?

• Can you identify some characteristics of the most reliable account?

RELIABLE OR UNRELIABLE?

• How did you arrive at your answer?

• What do you do to decide if a source is reliable or unreliable?

RELIABILITY

• Can the other 2 accounts be reliable?

• Depends on the purpose for looking at the source.

RELIABILITY

• No source is necessarily either reliable or unreliable for every purpose.

• Some source whilst unreliable for historical accuracy can be reliable for other purposes.

What is a RELIABLE

source?

A reliable source is one in which

there is consistency of the

author's account of the truth &

the truth-telling is verifiable

was written long after

the events it describes

was produced

for a particular

purpose which

might affect

its reliability

contains factual

errors /

exaggerations /

distortions

(i.e. verifiably

false versions

of events)

is inconsistent

with similar sources

shows bias

of the writer

Unreliable

source

What makes a source

UNRELIABLE?

Question

PURPOSEQuestion

CONTENT

Question

PROVENANCE

Checklist

for

reliability

CROSS-REFER

to other sources

PROVENANCE

• Provenance:

–Who is the speaker/writer?

–What is the occasion?

–When ?

–Where ?

–Who is the audience?

CONTENT

• What is being said?

–Fact or opinion?

– Is there a gap in information?

• How it is being said?

– Is the view one sided or balanced?

–Any exaggeration? Any over generalizations?

–What are the emotive words?

PURPOSE

• Why was the source created?

– Consider the provenance –Who is the author? Who is the audience?

– What is the context of the source? Was it said before, during or after an event?

• Why does the speaker want to say this at that time/place ?

• What does the speaker expect the audience to do by saying this?

Study provenance, content, and use

contextual knowledge

SOURCE-BASED INQUIRY

EXERCISE

• Who founded Singapore?

–Break up into pairs.

–Refer to the activity sheet.

–Examine all the sources using the criteria listed in the table.

–Answer Question 1.

–You have 20 minutes!

DISCUSSION