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Assessing and Evaluating Sources

A Discussion With Mike Palmquist

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General Housekeeping

3

Mike Palmquist

Professor of English and Associate Provost at Colorado State University

Some Starting Points

• This approach is strongly rooted in the conversation metaphor.

• Evaluating sources is a critical writing and research skill.

• My approach has been fairly standard – a rhetorical riff on the

CRAAP Model (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and

Purpose).

• But times have changed.

Key Question

What role does source-based writing play at a

time when it has become increasingly difficult to

discern distinctions among facts, “alternative

facts,” and “fake news?”

What Do We Need to Consider As We Assess and Evaluate Sources?

Information, Misinformation, and Disinformation

What Do We Need to Consider?

Author and Publisher Biases and Agendas

What Do We Need to Consider?

The Lure of New and Exciting Information

Vosoughi, Roy, and Aral (2018) reported in Science on 126,000

rumors circulated on Twitter over more than a decade: false

information spread far more widely, with up to 100 times more

people seeing tweets about rumors than about fact-based stories.

What Do We Need to Consider?

The Impact of Information Bubbles • Be Skeptical

• Seek Alternative Perspectives

• Consume News Differently

An Expanded Approach

Based strongly in the conversation metaphor

Preserves some of the elements of the earlier approach

Four-Part Process

1. Assess Connections to Your Conversation

2. Read Laterally to Assess Credibility and Fit

3. Read Closely to Evaluate the Source

4. Engage in Rhetorical Listening

1. Assess Connections to Your Conversation

It’s all about relevanceIt should be quick – skimming is the key reading strategy at this

stage.

Read Laterally to Assess Credibility and Fit

Lateral reading, a concept developed by researchers Sam

Wineburg and Sarah McGrew, is based on what fact checkers do

to assess a claim.

It involves examining how the information, ideas, and argument in

the source fits within the sources addressing an issue.

It also reflects the process of opening related tabs in a browser

window.

Key moves: seeking information about the authors and publishers,

following links, conducting additional searches

Conduct Initial Search

Open a Promising

Source

Look for Info about the

Author

Search for the Author

View Info about the

Author

View Info about the

Author

View Info about the Publisher

Search for the Article Title to

View Reactions and

Republications

Follow Links in the Article

Follow Links in the Article

Read Closely to Evaluate the Source

• Relevance

• Evidence

• Author

• Publisher

• Timeliness

• Comprehensiveness

• Genre

Engage in Rhetorical Listening

Does what you’ve learned from the source

suggest that you might want to change your

position on the issue?

Engage in Rhetorical Listening

Engage in Conversation Collaboratively – Not

Aggressively

It need not be an agree/disagree situation. • Wayne Booth’s “Listening Rhetoric” in The Rhetoric of

Rhetoric: The Quest for Effective Communication

• Krista Ratcliffe’s “Rhetorical Listening” with its focus on

gender, race, ethnicity, and culture

• Sonja Foss’ “Invitational Rhetoric” (co-developed with my

colleague Cindy Griffin)

• Cheryl Glenn’s “Rhetoric of Silence” with its grounding in

gender and race

Assessing and Evaluating Sources

1. Assess Connections to Your Conversation

2. Read Laterally to Assess Credibility and Fit

3. Read Closely to Evaluate the Source

4. Engage in Rhetorical Listening

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Q&A with Mike Palmquist

28macmillanlearning.com

Mike PalmquistMike.Palmquist@colostate.edu

Vivian Garcia, Marketing Manager, EnglishVivian.Garcia@macmillan.com

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