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Rider University Library

Evaluating Information Sources

How to judge if you are looking at reliable information on the Internet.

Bias

When reviewing news sources, it’s best to know the bias behind the publication and the way they present their information. This is from All Sides Media which tries to present all sides and remain in the Center.

All Sides Media Bias Chart

Avoid using terms that imply a certain answer.

I.e. “Women 72 cents on the dollar” will return articles that tell you women make 72 cents on the dollar.

“Women 80 cents on the dollar” will return articles that say women make 80 cents on the dollar.

Searching for general articles on the “wage gap”  might be a better choice.

Avoid culturally loaded terms.

I.e. the term “black-on-white crime” is term used by white supremacist groups but is not a term generally used by sociologists.

If you put that term into the Google search bar, you are going to get some sites that will carry the perspective of white supremacist sites, and will not be good sources of serious sociological analysis.

  • The internet is showing us what it thinks we want to see… not what we need to see. 

 

  • The Filter Bubble is your unique universe of information you see online. 

 

  • You don’t decide what gets in… or get to see what gets edited out. 

 

~Eli Pariser