Topic 2: How good are you in determining reliable information?

How to best evaluate internet information?

It’s a big deal and an important skill to possess!

Not surprisingly, many people suffered from ‘filter bubble’ – a state of intellectual isolation beyond their realisation. It can lead to a snowballing confirmation bias that builds up steadily over time.

Source: Nieman Lab

How does filter bubble affects individuals?

Ways to overcome filter bubbles. Check it out!

Fake news is any article or video containing untrue information disguised as a credible news source, it has recently become a big problem in today’s digital world.

Source: IFLA

What does “Quality Information” even mean?

To me, the word quality involves some sort of judgement call; you’re comparing the object in front of you to some other object or group of objects you’ve experienced in the past. When thinking about a quality shirt, a quality TV show, or a quality YouTube clip, we think in terms of good and bad — not necessarily if it’s fact or opinion. So, this immediately makes me think about ‘distinct judgement amongst people’.

‘Quality Information’? (Dictionary Explanations)

In an evaluative sense, Merriam-Webster’s defines quality in the way I assumed above: “how good or bad something is.” However, their second definition adds nuance to the term, making it a bit more complex: “high level of value/excellence.” Oxford’s definition gives even more leeway to the person evaluating, saying that quality is “The standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind or a degree of excellence in something.” Thus, using quality to describe digital resources, means something that is good and has high value.

However, everyone perceives value and “goodness” differently. The “one person’s junk is another’s treasure” saying rings true here.

After evaluating many strategies, generally it fits into these two categories:

1. Relevance – assessment of whether something is valuable or good for the purpose.
2. Validity – to evaluate whether/not information is correct/reliable

Source: Kathy Schrock

Furthermore, I try to rapidly ask myself if;

1. A resource is valuable to me for what I’m doing (relevance)
2. Whether or not it is right (valid&correct).

Asking these two questions capture the gist of other criteria(s) commonly used to assess information.

356 Words

References:

1. Stray, J. (2012). Are we stuck in filter bubbles? Here are five potential paths out. Nieman Lab. Retrieved 15 November 2017, from http://www.niemanlab.org/2012/07/are-we-stuck-in-filter-bubbles-here-are-five-potential-paths-out/
2. The Now: What is Fake News? – Full Page. (2017). GCFLearnFree.org. Retrieved 15 November 2017, from https://www.gcflearnfree.org/thenow/what-is-fake-news/1/
3. How to evaluate website content. (2017). The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 15 November 2017, from https://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/library-museum-gallery/finding-resources/library-databases/databases-overview/evaluating-websites