Research and Information Literacy

This inquisitive strategy is best used as a guide for lateral reading and cross referencing when critically evaluating any information resource (especially open web sources and media sources).

Go beyond your considered source and cross-reference the author/creator, the institution, and/or the publisher, in an attempt to uncover their missions and affiliations.

Author - Audience: consider the author's credentials; have they established authorship on the subject? Can you verify their authority on the subject? Can you determine the intended audience? How might the intended audience influence the way the information is presented and selected?

Bias: consider the apparent and hidden biases within the resource; can you determine the author's aim, agenda, or affiliations? Consider the context of the work, as well as it's style. Are they writing on behalf of a specific institution or cause? Does the resource rely more on opinion and emotional appeal OR facts, data, analysis, and analogy? What could be influencing the topic's interpretation?

Credibility: consider the content; use critical thinking to evaluate the ideas and claims; use citations/references to track the trajectory and reception of the ideas and claims; pay attention to the source's currency, terminology, and container (format/content type). Is it a primary source or a peer reviewed secondary source? 

Meditating on these points when accessing a resource can help you clarify, verify, and guide further inquiry.

Fighting Visual Disinformation Using Adobe's Content Authenticity Initiative Attribution Tool.