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How Do I Teach Students to Assess Authority Using Traditional Criteria?
Many examples exist (e.g., questions, more questions, progressive analysis, Web Quest roles, animated Web pages, modifiable Word, survey forms) which prompt students to apply traditional criteria (e.g., determining the credentials of individuals or institutions) to assess authority in print and digital media. While lessons that use hoax sites are entertaining or shocking, they don't ensure that students can transfer and apply their learning to their actual research project.
Students develop criteria for assessing authority in traditional publishing formats
What are students doing?
For the teacher: Students examine traditionally-vetted print and online publications and develop a list of criteria they can use to determine traditional authority. Ask them to test their criteria on other publications. While you may want to just hand students one of the above questionnaires, they are likely be more engaged and develop deeper understanding if they wrestle with various indicators of authority and weigh their relative importance.
What big ideas should students understand?
To the student: Books, journals and magazines publish material that has been through an traditional editorial process. In order to produce accurate and polished publications manuscripts are reviewed by an editorial board or peer reviewers with credentials related to the content. The identity of the author may be shielded from peer-reviewers in to avoid influencing a manuscript's acceptance. In other cases both identities (double-blind peer review) are hidden. If you can identify the criteria by which these publications assure you of their authority, you are able to use them to judge other resources you find while doing research.
Lessons to Teach Students to Use "Traditional" Criteria to Determine Authority
A series of four activities in which students draw conclusions about the the concept of authority while exploring print and online publications related to their research.
Activity #1: Ask students to select and browse a print reference book that they will use for their research project. They might read the foreword or introduction which is likely to contain an explanation of coverage and a description of the editorial process and scan the list of editors and advisory board members. Show them how to overview features (index, signed entries, references) that signal that this source is "scholarly." In groups of 5-6 ask them to share, brainstorm and record their conclusions in response to this question:
What elements (professional affiliation of authors and editors, selection criteria, index, bibliography, format) contribute to your judgment that this is an authoritative work? Why?
As the group reports, make a list of all elements they identify.
Activity #2: Each student selects and browses a print periodical (magazine, journal or newspaper), its online counterpart or a digital-only publication. (Do not include blogs, wikis or other new media.) Encourage students to choose (or you select) something they are can use for an actual research project. Do not use subscription databases which separate the article from their context (masthead, author guidelines and other publication information). Some examples of full-text digital periodicals that can be viewed as an entire issue online are:
Model how to browse or read articles, read the "About Us," FAQ or editorial mission statement, find information about contributors and material directed to the press or advertisers (sometimes linked from words like "media kit" or "advertise"). In groups of 5-6 they should share and record their observations in response to this question:
As groups report, create a second column on the class' list with such elements as name recognition, selection criteria, confirmation of reader’s prior knowledge, information quality, contributor information and format.
Activity #3: Ask students to compare the two lists and eliminate duplicate authority criteria.
Activity #4: Create a checklist of the student-generated list of criteria with space for "why?" next to each element and a "Decision" box at the end. Ask students to select a new source they plan to use for their research and use the checklist to locate evidence and explain why it contributes to the authority of the source. Lastly they must decide if they will use the source, explaining which criteria most influenced their judgment.
| Student's name: | Resource name/URL |
| Author's credentials | why? |
| Peer reviewing process | why? |
| ...etc. | |
| My decision... | because... |
Activity #5: At the conclusion of a research project ask students to select any resource from their bibliography and assess it's authority using this checklist.