Change: Redo: Evaluating Sources of Information -Redo

Evaluating sources

In  lab we will be introducing the Scientific Claim Assessment Project that is your Final Project for the semester. A large part of this assignment is learning how to evaluate sources of scientific information.  In lab we will  learn about the basic ways to evaluate information and in lab you will complete this assessments below: 

Primary, secondary, and tertiary sources for Biology science research

1. 1. Primary sources
      1. the scientists who did the research are the authors
      2. it's published in a peer reviewed journal
      3. there is a methods section explaining how they set up experiments
      4. there is a results section about the new data they generated 
   2. Secondary sources
      1. it's an analysis or summary of many different research papers, explaining what's going on with a certain topic or field
      2. the authors did not do the research they are writing about
      3. it's published in a peer reviewed journal
      4. it might have "review" in the title of the article or the name of the publication 
      5. even if they have a method's section, it's not primary research unless they are doing experiments and generating new data.
      6. (a methods section might have statistical methods, but not experimental methods)
   3. Tertiary sources
      1. these could be news articles, encyclopedia or textbook sections, or popular science articles, videos, or podcasts
      2. the authors did not do the research they are writing about
      3. the authors are not necessarily scientists in the field they are writing about, but they usually have some familiarity or training to help them understand the field (ex. a bachelor's degree in the field, or experience collaborating with experts in the field)

You try! Identify what kind of source each of these is (hint: there's 1 of each):

Source 1 Links to an external site.

Source 2 Links to an external site.

Source 3 Links to an external site.

Evaluating how trustworthy a source is.

What should we look for? 

• • look at the URL: .edu, .gov vs. .com 
  • peer reviewed sources
  • references (if there are none, less trustworthy)
    • when we look at references, those should also be trustworthy sources
  • how recent it is (timed appropriately for the topic) 
  • the title of the website or article (more formal) 
  • fact-based (not opinions)
  • author's credentials are (google them - are they an expert in this field?) 
  • trying to sell you something? (trust them less) 
  • CRAP test (currency, reliability, authority, purpose) 

You try! Decide how trustworthy each of these sources is:

Source 4 Links to an external site.

Source 5 Links to an external site.

Evaluating the strength of evidence in a primary source

• • Sample size - 1 point for large enough, 0 points if not
  • Randomization - 1 point for randomized groups, 0 points if not
  • Researcher bias - 1 point for no significant bias or bias prevented from impacting study, 0 points if not
  • Confounds - 1 point for controlled study, 0 points if not

What to look for

• • Sample size: big enough to represent the target population
    • 20 or more at least (less may not be significant, unless population size is VERY small)
    • who is the target population? (ex. people with HIV) - figure out what the target population is
  • Randomization
    • random sample from the population 
    • which groups participants are assigned to 
  • Bias
    • double-blinded or masked: participant and researcher both don't know which group the participant is in 
    • no conflicts of interest/funding sources 
  • Confounds - alternative explanations (don't have to do with the independent variable) 
    • control treatment (everything is the same except for the independent variable) 

You try! Decide how strong the evidence is (a score 0-4 with an explanation for each of the 4 categories)

Focus on the design of the clinical trial. There are a few different sections of the article where they talk about this. For example, look at "phase 1 clinical trial design" on page 1117

Source 6 Links to an external site.

Evaluating how accurate an interpretation of evidence is in a tertiary source

What should we look for to determine if we trust an author's interpretation of the primary source?

• • quote original scientists, or people who worked on the original study, from the primary source (shows have knowledge/connections to the researchers) 
  • talks about bias or how they eliminated bias in the primary source 
  • linking primary source so you can go check for yourself 
  • look at the primary source, see if their findings match the tertiary source (ex. did the actually researchers find that bt corn doesn't harm non-target organisms?) 

You try! Assess how accurate you think this author's interpretation is

Source 7 Links to an external site.