Discerning A Valuable Resource
These days we have access to incredible amounts of information with a click of button. The internet can pull thousands if not millions of pages, articles, and images about whatever topic we desire. But the question becomes: how do you discern what is good credible reliable information from what is opinion or bad info? It is hard to do with so much out there but so important.
Where as newspapers, television news broadcasts, and journal articles are largely evaluated for accuracy and objectivity,
These days we have access to incredible amounts of information with a click of button. The internet can pull thousands if not millions of pages, articles, and images about whatever topic we desire. But the question becomes: how do you discern what is good credible reliable information from what is opinion or bad info? It is hard to do with so much out there but so important.
Where as newspapers, television news broadcasts, and journal articles are largely evaluated for accuracy and objectivity,
Where is the story or article published? Who is the author?
After you do your Google search, multiple websites pull up from many different sources. Start there. Look at where the website is published. Is the article/story published on a university website or a website that you have never head of? Is it published by a department of the government? Generally universities and governmental departments have checks and balances in place before anything is published that is associated with their name. That is not to say that other websites don't have quality information as well. Take magazines like Triathlete, Runner's World, or Bicycling or organizations such as USAT or Ironman. We constantly see articles published on their websites and shared through social media. As organizations they have a responsibility to make sure that their content is accurate and provides quality information by publishing authors that have credentials and experience about the topic. That is one way to evaluate the author. Does the author have the education and training to be writing the article/story? What is their education and experience? The information should be listed somewhere on the page. For example, credentials after the author's name. But make sure the credentials match the topic. In other words, is a a certified tax account writing about training? They have credentials but not the right credentials.
Befriend the question 'why?' Why is the author qualified to write on this topic? We will come back to this question again as we look at more criteria.
After you do your Google search, multiple websites pull up from many different sources. Start there. Look at where the website is published. Is the article/story published on a university website or a website that you have never head of? Is it published by a department of the government? Generally universities and governmental departments have checks and balances in place before anything is published that is associated with their name. That is not to say that other websites don't have quality information as well. Take magazines like Triathlete, Runner's World, or Bicycling or organizations such as USAT or Ironman. We constantly see articles published on their websites and shared through social media. As organizations they have a responsibility to make sure that their content is accurate and provides quality information by publishing authors that have credentials and experience about the topic. That is one way to evaluate the author. Does the author have the education and training to be writing the article/story? What is their education and experience? The information should be listed somewhere on the page. For example, credentials after the author's name. But make sure the credentials match the topic. In other words, is a a certified tax account writing about training? They have credentials but not the right credentials.
Befriend the question 'why?' Why is the author qualified to write on this topic? We will come back to this question again as we look at more criteria.
Who is providing the funding?
Many organizations will fund studies or stories in hopes that it will prove that their medication or product is better then others which has the potential to introduce a bias into the study or story. Time to put on your critical thinking hat. Is there a bias because of the funding source? If so, is the information still reliable and can it be backed up with additional studies or stories? Making sure that you look beyond just one study or story is necessary. So much is out there that provides conflicting information and results.
Again our friendly question why comes back. Why was this study or story funded?
Many organizations will fund studies or stories in hopes that it will prove that their medication or product is better then others which has the potential to introduce a bias into the study or story. Time to put on your critical thinking hat. Is there a bias because of the funding source? If so, is the information still reliable and can it be backed up with additional studies or stories? Making sure that you look beyond just one study or story is necessary. So much is out there that provides conflicting information and results.
Again our friendly question why comes back. Why was this study or story funded?
Purpose of the page's creation?
Every study or story is done with a purpose in mind. Some might be to inform, while others are done to persuade us to either buy something or align with their point of view. None of these are inherently bad or good - they just are, but you do need to know what the purpose is when reading so that you can be discerning. Additionally, stories or articles are created for different audiences. Some may be for scholars while others are for the general public. Both are important but you have know what you are reading before diving in. Do you care about the specific data sets or do you care about specific workouts? That will help determine if the story or article is for you.
Once again ask the question. Why was the page created?
Every study or story is done with a purpose in mind. Some might be to inform, while others are done to persuade us to either buy something or align with their point of view. None of these are inherently bad or good - they just are, but you do need to know what the purpose is when reading so that you can be discerning. Additionally, stories or articles are created for different audiences. Some may be for scholars while others are for the general public. Both are important but you have know what you are reading before diving in. Do you care about the specific data sets or do you care about specific workouts? That will help determine if the story or article is for you.
Once again ask the question. Why was the page created?
Reliability, Credibility, Accuracy
Tough topics because these take a little bit more research and time. For example, if statements of facts are made are the sources listed to support the statement. Can what is being said be verified from other independent sources? Ultimately it is up to you to understand where the information is coming from.
Tough topics because these take a little bit more research and time. For example, if statements of facts are made are the sources listed to support the statement. Can what is being said be verified from other independent sources? Ultimately it is up to you to understand where the information is coming from.
One Last Piece - Correlation vs Causation
One last piece that you might want to keep in mind. Correlation implies that there is a connection but the how there is a connection is not certain. There may factors influencing that are not mention or that have not been discovered. Causation is literally A causes B but this much harder to prove. These two get mixed up frequently. Let's look at an example. A story is published about how product A can make you a better runner because of X factors. Great a product that will help me be better. Now we all know that there are many factors that go into making us better at our chosen sport. It isn't just one product that can make us better. Nor is accurate to say that the product A caused a person to be better because of X factors. Did the story include what else the athlete was doing in conjunction with taking this product? It is extremely hard to tease part everything and say that this specific product produced this result. That is not to say that the product didn't help. Just proceed with caution.
See you on the road!
One last piece that you might want to keep in mind. Correlation implies that there is a connection but the how there is a connection is not certain. There may factors influencing that are not mention or that have not been discovered. Causation is literally A causes B but this much harder to prove. These two get mixed up frequently. Let's look at an example. A story is published about how product A can make you a better runner because of X factors. Great a product that will help me be better. Now we all know that there are many factors that go into making us better at our chosen sport. It isn't just one product that can make us better. Nor is accurate to say that the product A caused a person to be better because of X factors. Did the story include what else the athlete was doing in conjunction with taking this product? It is extremely hard to tease part everything and say that this specific product produced this result. That is not to say that the product didn't help. Just proceed with caution.
See you on the road!
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