Teaching Teens to Evaluate Sources
By the time a homeschooler is in middle school or high school, he needs to be able to evaluate the sources he uses in his term papers. When he attends college, this will be a critical part of his grade. In real life, the ability to evaluate sources helps an adult avoid being conned, mislead, or endangered by false information and propaganda.
The first step is to start with the level of the source. Your teen needs to understand two important terms: primary sources, and secondary sources.
Primary Source:
“My name is John Jones and I hate spinach.”
Secondary Source:
“John Jones said yesterday that he hates spinach.”
Sources even further removed:
“According to Spinach Politics Weekly, John Jones hates spinach.”
Which source is best to use? The primary source is always best. That way you have a direct quote and you know exactly how it was said. The secondary source doesn’t have a direct quote, so the person claiming to have heard John Jones may have heard incorrectly or quoted incorrectly. The statement might have been taken out of context or edited. For example, he might really have said, “I hate spinach covered with chocolate sauce” but the article left the chocolate out, leaving the impression that John hates spinach of all kinds. The final statement leaves too many people to get it wrong. Spinach Politics Weekly could have gotten it wrong. The place reporting what Spinach Politics said could have gotten it wrong. Stay as close to the original source as is absolutely possible to increase the likelihood that your information is accurate.
When it isn’t possible to get a quote directly from the source, evaluate the person providing the information. Begin by researching the author of the article or book. Does this person have credentials that suggest he knows his facts? For instance, there is a great deal of information floating around about George Washington. Some of it is true. Some isn’t. He didn’t cut down the cherry tree! A true expert on George Washington knows this and knows what is true and what isn’t. Someone who just thought, “Oh, I’ll write a book on Washington” might not know which stories are factual.
To evaluate the author’s credentials, ask these questions:
Does he have a degree from a respected school in the area of the book or article?
Does he have a job that makes him an expert?
Does he have first hand experience with the topic?
If he doesn’t have these credentials, do reviews from important publications say the book is well-done?
Does he explain his qualifications?
The author should have at least one of the first five qualifications to be taken seriously.
The next step is to evaluate bias. This means to see if he is going to give you an honest balanced opinion, or if he is trying to convince you of something. His credentials should give you a clue as to his bias. If he is a descendant of George Washington, he might be inclined to make Washington seem better than he is. If he writes about religion, you’ll want to know what his own religion is. If he writes about his own, he’s likely to phrase things so they sound good. If he hates the religion he’s writing on, he’s likely to tell only the bad side and make the good sound evil. If an author sells live Christmas trees for a living, his book on artificial trees might be designed to make you feel artificial trees are immoral.
It’s easy to see how someone might slant the material they’re giving you. Remember the spinach example above. By leaving a few words out of the sentence, Spinach Politics Weekly was able to make people think John Jones hated spinach, when he really only hates it with chocolate sauce. Why would Spinach Politics do this? It might be that Jones is running for president and Spinach Politics doesn’t want him to win, so they quoted him in such a way as to make spinach lovers dislike him.
Another problem arises when an author adds to the original statement to make you think someone said something he didn’t. This is called hyperbole. For instance, suppose John Jones really did say he hates spinach, and he is running for president. A shock jock writes about this:
“John Jones, running for president, stated that he hates spinach. Do we want a president who hates spinach? When Jones is elected, he will outlaw the growing of spinach. If parents allow their children to watch Popeye, they will be arrested for child abuse because they are encouraging their children to like an illegal substance. Soon, all health-conscious parents who support the eating of spinach will be in jail and their children will be in foster homes. Democracy will end and the country will be run by junk-food companies.”
Okay, so this is a bit over the top, although some shock jocks operate in just this way. But do you see what happened? He took a simple, personal statement about the candidate’s eating preferences and kept adding to it until democracy was ended. The candidate never said he would outlaw spinach, arrest parents, or put children into foster homes. But if the author gets you sufficiently worked up while reading this article, you’ll think that’s exactly what the candidate said. Within two weeks, it will be all over the Internet that John Jones plans to arrest children and their parents for eating spinach. Read articles and books very carefully to look for bias. If the author claims something shocking or unexpected, find out if he lists a source, and then check out the source. You should always follow each claim back to its original source. Bias isn't necessarily wrong, but you should know whether or not it's there.
Teach your child to find valid sources. Frequently, if it’s on the Internet, it isn’t valid, unless it’s a well-known source. Wikipedia, a favorite of students, is not a valid source because anyone can post there and credentials aren’t given. It's a great starting point, but that's all. Go to the library and spend time helping your child learn to recognize the most respected sources for your topic. If you read enough material, you’ll begin to notice who is frequently quoted. Assign your child to read a variety of materials and to notice bias and inaccurate writing. This will improve both his writing skills and his ability to stay safe and informed in the world.