Digital Literacy: Countering Bias, Misinformation and Disinformation (HC)

When choosing what to read, whether for the day's news or for a research paper, these are useful questions to ask yourself.

• Author - What is the author's training and experience?  Have they published other material in this subject area?

• Publication Platform - Where does the source appear?  Is it in an online journal or a book from a university press? Does it have a connection to a larger project?

• Audience - Who are the intended readers?  Is it for the general public or a particular interest group?  Is the author addressing researchers and college students?

• Discipline Focus - What subject approach does the author take?  Scientific, political, literary?  If literary, is there a special interest in a particular kind of interpretation, such as linguistic, psychoanalytic or gender theory?

• Documentation - Are there footnotes and bibliography for further reading?  Does the author engage with ideas from other writers and researchers?

• Date - When was the source published?  Do you need to find a more recent point-of-view?                                                                     

Faculty will often ask that you use peer-reviewed articles for your papers.  This is a process in which journal editors send submitted articles to a researcher in the specific field under discussion for an outside review.  The author's name is withheld, so that the critique and comments can be objective.  Articles are accepted for publication contingent upon revisions and recommendations from the reviewers.  This practice ensures accuracy and encourages new developments in research.

Watch this brief video to learn about the peer review process and ways to find these journal articles.