“Elementary, My Dear First Years!”: Selecting & Evaluating Information Sources

Dilnavaz Mirza Sharma / 4.23.2015

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"It is of the highest importance in the art of detection to be able to recognize, out of a number of facts, which are incidental and which vital. Otherwise your energy and attention must be dissipated instead of being concentrated.“

Sherlock Holmes Quote The Reigate Puzzle

Strategies for Selecting Sources• Scholarly or Popular

• Primary or Secondary

• Timeliness

Strategy for Evaluating Sources• Applying the CRAAP test

"Data! Data! Data!" he cried impatiently. "I can't make bricks without clay."

Sherlock Holmes The Adventure of the Copper Beeches

Student will be able to:

•Select information that satisfies research or information need.

•Evaluate information for reliability, validity, accuracy, authority, timeliness, and point of view or bias.

•Validate understanding and interpretation of the information through classroom and other discussion formats

“… to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.”

Sherlock Holmes QuoteA Scandal in Bohemia

Outcomes

Scholarly or PopularScholarly work is …

• Written by experts for experts

• Based on original research or intellectual inquiry

• Provides citations for all sources used

• Usually peer reviewed prior to publication

• Typically longer: 10-30 pages

“ … The distinction is clear.”Sherlock Holmes Quote

A Scandal in Bohemia

Popular work is …

• Written by a journalist or member of the general public

• About general interest stories which may refer to research but do not contain original research

• Likely to not have citations

• Not peer-reviewed

• Usually shorter: 200 words to a few pages

Primary or SecondaryA Primary Source is …

• A first-hand account of an event or a period

in time

• Written during the event or not too long

after it has occurred

• Factual report, not interpretive

Examples

• Diaries, journals, newspapers, census data,

recorded or transcribed speeches,

documentary footage, maps, photographs,

published results of clinical trials,

conference proceedings

A Secondary Source is …

• An interpretation of primary sources

• Second-hand reports of an event or

historic period

• Interpretative accounts of original or

creative work

Examples

• Biographies, histories, literary criticism,

interpretation of results of several

clinical trials, book/art/theater

reviews

"There is nothing like first-hand evidence.“ Sherlock Holmes Quote

A Study in Scarlet

http://meredithir.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_0I0YHfyzQRmMwFD

In Class Activity: Primary or Secondary Sources

Link:

Information Time Cycle

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment."

Sherlock Holmes A Study in Scarlet

Information about an event, an issue, or a period in time is

produced and published over a length of time. The initial

reporting occurs through social media (Twitter, Facebook etc.)

and mass media (TV, radio, newspapers). Within days of the

initial occurrence, information trickles into multiple

information resources to be reported on, analyzed,

interpreted, and studied.

22, March 2014Guinea reports 59 confirmed dead from Ebola

Example of an Information Timeline:2014 Ebola Epidemic

Internet : Twitter: #Ebola in #GuineaRadio: NPR - “Ebola Breaks Out In West Africa For The First Time” TV: NBC, CNN, Reuters

Day/Soon After

Newspaper : NYT – “Ebola, Killing Scores in Guinea, Threatens Nearby Nations”

Weeks Later

Magazines: Time - ”

Ebola Spreads from Guinea to Li

beria”

Months Later

Scholarly Journal: The New England Journal of Medicine – “Emergence of Zaire Ebola Virus Disease in Guinea”

Year(s) Later

Books

“Good old Watson! You are the one fixed point in a

changing age.”Sherlock Holmes

The Last Bow

The CRAAP Method

C R A A P

Currency

Relevancy

Authority

Accuracy

Point of View/bias

“I never guess. It is a shocking habit,—destructive to the logical faculty.” Sherlock Holmes The Sign of Four

Currency: The timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?

• Has the information been revised or updated?

• Does your topic require current information, or

will older sources work as well?

• Are the links functional?

"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation.”Sherlock HolmesThe Sign of Four

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

• Who is the intended audience?

• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?

• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

“Having gathered these facts, Watson, I smoked several pipes over them, trying to separate those which were crucial from others which were merely incidental.”

Sherlock Holmes The Crooked Man

Authority: The source of the information.

• What are the academic credentials of the author?

• Are these relevant to information presented?

• Is the institutional affiliation offered?

• What else has he/she written?

• Site Domain Check:

.edu – Only issued to US affiliated institutions of higher education .gov – Only used by government entities in the United States .org – Commonly used by schools, open-source projects, non-profit entities .net - For organizations with networking technologies .com – For commercial organizations

“It's a wicked world, and when a clever man turns his brain to crime it is the worst of all.” Arthur Conan Doyle The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

• Where does the information come from?

• Is the information supported by evidence?

• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from

personal knowledge?

• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

• Are there spelling, grammatical or typographical errors?

“It is cocaine,' he said, 'a seven-per-cent solution. Would you like to try it?”Sherlock HolmesThe Sign of Four

Point of View/Bias: specific opinions that inform the

resource

•Does the source convey a particular opinion or position?

•Is the source attempting to persuade you or sell you

something?

•Is the source part of a larger publication?

•If so, what is the mission or purpose of that publication?

•Are the author's sources clearly cited? If so, what kinds of sources did they cite?“The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.”

Sherlock HolmesThe Sign of Four

Homework /Assessment Activity

Access and read the source assigned to you/your team. Use the CRAAP method and the other evaluation strategies discussed in class today to assess if the source assigned to your team is suitable for use in an academic paper.

Source #1: “Disruptions: Minecraft, an Obsession and an Educational Tool”URL: http://tinyurl.com/ow3lpa5

Source #2: “Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescents”URL: http://tinyurl.com/lroax4o

Source #3: “The Impact of Video Games”URL: http://tinyurl.com/ked3lk9

Source #4: “California Ban on Violent Videogames Violates First Amendment”URL: http://tinyurl.com/39kva8d

Worksheet

Link:http://meredithir.co1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_eJuykPwxHlgCVgx

Works Cited

Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) Library. City University of New

York, 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Doyle, Arthur C, and Christopher Morley. The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Garden City,

N.Y: Doubleday & Co, 1930. Print.

University of Washington Libraries. U of Washington, 2015. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.