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EDUC 2120-Exploring Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Educational Contexts: Evaluating Sources

Research information for EDUC 2120 students.

If I Apply: Evaluating Sources

What does it mean to evaluate a source?
  • To evaluate a source means to look for details within the publication about its purpose, author, and think about how you can use the source in your own research.
Why would I want to evaluate my source?
  • You want to evaluate sources to understand your own bias and think about how to avoid writing a biased research assignment. Evaluating a source you find through the library databases or Google will help you to think critically about how the information ended up in front of you.

Bias & Evaluation

A [researcher's] job is to present a balanced story...As you read, listen to and watch the news, you may notice stories that you think are biased...  To accurately identify different types of bias, you should be aware of the issues of the day, and the different perspectives on each issues."  

(For more information on media bias from Student News Daily, click here.) 

As you collect and analyze information from different sources, you will be assessing it for credibility (using the CRAAP Test). Another factor in evaluating information is establishing bias: Is the author presenting all sides of an issue or is it opinion based? Do they refer to other information sources? What are these sources?

Take a moment to identify where your own information comes from on the media bias, chart shown here. Make sure you are reading all sides of an issue and that your sources reflect a balanced view.

 

CRAAP TEST

Academic Use of AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) programs, such as ChatGPT, can be fun and helpful tools for writing and research. Grammarly and citation generator tools are examples of useful AI writing and research resources. However, in an academic setting, it can be tricky to know when writing and research tools cross the line into unethical use and plagiarism. If students use AI tools for class assignments instead of original thoughts, analysis, and research, it defeats the purpose of learning, which is to interact independently with course content.

Consider using AI to:

  • Check grammar and citations such as Grammarly and citation generators. (Always double-check citation formatting.)
  • Brainstorm ideas for a paper or presentation.
  • Generate keywords to search for a topic. 
  • Find subtopics to research. 

Don't use AI to:

  • Paraphrase research.
  • Copy information to your paper.
  • Find sources for academic research.
  • Analyze course readings.