using source analysis to promote critical thinking

Research Strategies 18 (2001) 303–309

Using source analysis to promote critical thinking

Barbara J. D’Angelo*

Arizona State University East Library, 7001 East Williams Field Road, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA

Abstract

Information literacy, as defined by the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher

Education [2000. Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries], is the ability to locate,

retrieve, evaluate, and use information. Critical thinking is an essential component of information

literacy and is reflected in the Standards through the evaluation, application, integration, and use of

information. At Arizona State University East, an activity in source analysis is used in an

international business class to foster students’ critical evaluation and selection of sources and is an

example of a library instruction exercise that promotes critical thinking.

D 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Critical thinking; Library instruction; Information literacy; Text analysis

1. Critical thinking and information literacy

Information literacy and critical thinking are closely tied. Although characterized in many

ways, the Foundation for Critical Thinking identifies the following as one definition of

critical thinking: ‘‘Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and

skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information’’

(Scriven & Paul, no date). Defined in this way, the relationship between critical thinking and

information literacy is apparent and supports the idea that promoting and enhancing students’

critical thinking is a necessary component of library instruction.

The incorporation of critical thinking into library instruction is not a new idea. Bodi (1988)

argued that a ‘‘role of the academic library should be to support and reinforce the

development of critical thinking among students. Bibliographic instruction provides an

0734-3310/01/$ – see front matter D 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/S0734-3310(03)00006-5

* Tel.: +1-480-727-1160; fax: +1-480-727-1077.

E-mail address: [email protected] (B.J. D’Angelo).

B.J. D’Angelo / Research Strategies 18 (2001) 303–309304

appropriate structure in which to address critical thinking’’ (p. 151). Atton (1994) notes that

while Bodi and others focus on incorporating exercises and activities that promote critical

thinking, they still recommend that traditional bibliographic instruction take place first. She

goes further, however, recommending that an introduction to library and information skills

start with critical thinking and communication. Herro (2000) presents a review of successful

library instruction sessions incorporating critical thinking activities, many of which go

beyond ‘‘how to’’ sessions and emphasize resource selection and focus on the evaluation

of information. Others have discussed the use of active learning, cooperative learning, and

problem-based learning techniques to develop information literacy skills (Jacobson & Mark,

1995; Keyser, 2000; Smith Macklin, 2001), all of which engage students in the learning

process to encourage critical thinking.

2. Instructional context

Arizona State University (ASU) East Library Services is a ‘‘hybrid library’’ consisting of a

predominantly electronic collection. A small book and print periodical collection representing

core materials related to campus programs is maintained. Access to a broader range of print

resources is available at no cost to ASU East-affiliated patrons through electronic document

delivery from the collections of ASU in Tempe, ASU West in Phoenix, and commercial

vendors. Although not the traditional model for an academic library, East Library represents

the transformational nature of contemporary libraries from physical to electronic access. In

line with this delivery of information and service in the electronic environment, East Library

has developed a number of services available through the web including forms to request

services, a searchable index of Internet resources related to ASU East programs, and subject-

specific research guides called Quickstarts to provide links to relevant research resources and

assistance. At the same time, East Library has a strong commitment to personalized service.

Reference and research assistance is available from East librarians in-person, by phone,

through email, and through voice-over-IP. Librarians also conduct instruction sessions for

individual classes and collaborate with faculty on the design of library assignments for their

classes and programs. In addition, one reference and instruction librarian teaches two, three-

credit classes (‘‘InfoGlut: Deal With It’’ and ‘‘Information Architecture’’) under the umbrella

of the Multimedia Writing and Technical Communication Program.

IBS300, Principles of International Business, is a three-credit survey course that introduces

students to the global economic, social, and political environment in which today’s businesses

and organizations operate. The major assignment for the course is a country project. Each

student selects a country from a designated region and completes an assessment of its eco-

nomic development, its political and policy system, and its cultural and social environment.

Students must locate a wealth of data and information about the country and analyze it within

the context of the opportunities and risks it presents to business in a five- to seven-page paper.

Because the students need to conduct research on their country to complete their assessment,

a library instruction session was scheduled for the Spring 2002 semester. In previous semesters,

the instructor had observed that students were not able to find relevant or appropriate

B.J. D’Angelo / Research Strategies 18 (2001) 303–309 305

information and that they did not ‘‘dig deep enough,’’ resulting in the use of single types of

resources, particularly travel websites. The librarian recommended using a class activity

designed to help students understand and critically evaluate the differences in sources, how

information is disseminated in various formats, and the importance of gathering information

from multiple sources. The class session and activity was repeated again in Fall 2003.

3. Library instruction activity

The class session consisted of a group activity analyzing a variety of different sources on a

country. The librarian selected newspaper articles (both from US sources and the foreign

press), a country commercial guide from the United States Commercial Service, a country

report from Economist.com, a selection of documents from the country’s government

website, a selection of documents from travel websites, financial data/reports from the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), and a scholarly journal article for the students to

evaluate. Because the students did not have access to computer terminals in the classroom,

printouts from the databases or websites were used and each packet included enough

information about the source for students to do a complete analysis. The focus of the activity

was student analysis of documents from a variety of types of sources through text analysis.

That is, students read through and evaluated the content of the document for its relevance,

credibility, and validity. Students in small groups analyzed the document assigned to them by

the librarian using a worksheet (Appendix). They then reported out to the class on their

findings. As a class, the students compared the sources using their own observations and by

responding to and discussing questions posed by the librarian and instructor.

The primary objective of this activity was to assist students in understanding the differ-

ences among various types of sources. The librarian deliberately selected sources that

represented different stages of the information life cycle and publishing process (newspapers,

journal articles, and websites) so that students would grasp the differences and value of each.

Because the differences between newspapers and scholarly articles are relatively simple to

comprehend, the librarian began the discussion with the two groups responsible for these two

sources. The group with the selection of newspaper articles quickly determined that news-

papers were a good source for researching a country because they contained up-to-date

information on events in the country. The group with the scholarly journal article determined

the scholarly and research nature of the content and that it was useful for finding in-depth and

analytical information about the country. Because their report immediately followed that by

the newspaper group, the librarian was able to lead the students to compare and to discuss the

rate of information dissemination in newspapers compared to journals and the differences

between the reporting of news and in-depth analysis. The instructor and librarian reviewed

the publication process for scholarly journals and the time required for research, analysis,

writing, peer review, and, finally, publication in contrast to the immediacy of news reporting.

Students were able to grasp the importance and value of using both types of sources: the

scholarly article for research and analysis and newspapers for more up-to-date information

and current events.


Questions and discussion led to even greater depth of analysis. The current information of

newspapers was determined to be valuable but not enough for a credible evaluation of a

country because the more in-depth analysis provided by other sources might prove the news

reporting inaccurate or sketchy due to its immediacy. In addition, the use of newspaper

sources from the country itself began to be evaluated in a different light as the class discussed

the need to determine the degree of freedom (or censorship) that governed the press in the

countries that they were evaluating.

The remainder of the groups summarized their sources of information and their value as

sources for research based on their analysis of the content of the document. During each

report, the instructor and librarian added comments and questioned the students about the

author and/or publisher to expand and broaden student perspectives on how information is

published, by whom, and why. For example, the librarian asked the group analyzing the

IMF document how they had determined that it was a valid source. Initially, the group

appeared willing to accept the document as valid because it was from the IMF and

seemed taken aback by the question. However, the question led to a discussion about the

role of the IMF and assumptions about its validity as an author or publisher of

information about a country and pushed students into thinking about what the IMF is

and does, the type of documents it produces, and why. No longer was it a valid source

simply because the publisher was the IMF; the IMF itself came under scrutiny as students

discussed how to determine whether an author or publisher of information is credible.

Similarly, students began to look differently at the government-sponsored websites,

questioning whether a government would publish objective information about itself or

use the site as a source of propaganda.

Using questions to lead students to reach their own conclusions about the validity of a

source was an important part of the class as it allowed students to determine for themselves

the importance of source evaluation; to look critically at what initially appears obvious; to

understand that each source can add a different perspective and type of content; and, as a

result, to use a variety of sources in order to gain an overall picture of the country.

Questioning as a pedagogical strategy is well-established as a method of promoting critical

thinking as it allows the individual to arrive at his/her own conclusions based on evidence,

observation, and inquiry. Brown and Keeley (1990), for example, argue that asking and

answering questions are a requirement of critical thinking.

In addition to the evaluation of sources, the instructor was concerned about students’

ability to cite sources. Her concern was expressed not as a concern about the inability to

use a particular style format correctly, but rather about the inability to properly identify

the source of the information. This concern was reinforced when, at the beginning of

class, after being told to determine the source of the information, a student asked, ‘‘Isn’t it

good enough to say it’s a website?’’ Because all of the documents used for the activity

had been printed from ‘‘the web,’’ they proved to be especially useful in demonstrating

that the Internet or web is simply a gateway and tool for disseminating and retrieving

information but that the source itself may be a newspaper or a journal or, simply, a

website such as those produced by a travel company. The selection of newspaper articles

also served this purpose well because the librarian was able to point out the difference


between the source of the information (the newspaper) and the database used to locate the

information (the web-based database Dow Jones Interactive), a distinction that many

students were not making.

To emphasize the need for properly attributing and citing sources, at the beginning of each

group’s report to the class, the librarian asked them to identify their source in a citation. As

she wrote the information on the board, she was then able to note the elements of the citation

and the distinctions among the author, publisher, and the index/database used to retrieve

the source.

4. Discussion

When the librarian used this exercise previously for a different subject area, it proved to

be successful in leading students to use a broader range of sources for their research and to

more effectively integrate them into their writing (D’Angelo, 2001). Although a formal

evaluation of the variation of the activity used with the IBS300 class was not done,

observations from both the librarian and instructor confirm that the activity was successful

in helping students to think more critically in their selection, evaluation, and use of

resources. Students were actively engaged in the activity, both asking and answering

questions. The instructor also participated actively, adding input to the discussion and

providing context within the subject area and with activities or discussion held during

other class sessions. This participation by the instructor was important because she was

able to not only reinforce the importance of the source analysis but also give it context

within the course.

During class, the instructor observed that students were evaluating the source of the

information and the ‘‘agenda’’ of the individual or organization that produced it by

analyzing the content of their source and making informed decisions on whether it was

valid. While grading the students’ papers, the instructor noted the quality of the research

and cited sources in determining how effective the library session had been. Although a

formal comparative or quantitative analysis was not done, the instructor had taught this

course four times previously without a library instruction session and was able to make an

informal appraisal. During both semesters that the instruction session and activity were

included in the course, she noted that students overall had included a greater variety and

better balance of sources than previous classes and were properly attributing and citing

them. Students not only used sources similar to those used during the class activity, which

had been selected by the librarian, they also located additional sources on their own. The

balance of sources demonstrated that students retrieved information from various branches

of the US and foreign governments, the media, both US media and media from the country

they researched, and scholarly sources. In addition, travel websites were no longer being

used as a source (Parmentier, 2002a, 2002b). The instructor reported a ‘‘marked improve-

ment’’ in the overall quality of the papers from previous semesters and attributed this

improved research to increased skill level and awareness of electronic resources due to the

hands-on activity (Parmentier, 2002c).


5. Conclusion

The combination of text/content analysis and questioning helps students to evaluate

sources more critically and leads to more balanced research. The questioning that takes

place during the class discussion, in particular, is an integral component of this discovery

process. Other librarians have reported similar observations. Wesley (1991), for example,

describes similar types of activities and discusses the need to present to and work with

students on the information covered by various sources so that they can then find the best

research materials for their own topics. Bodi (1995) discusses the use of text analysis to

distinguish between propaganda and scholarly research.

The goal of the IBS300 activity was to promote more effective analysis of sources by

engaging students in the learning process to encourage critical thinking. By doing so, it

enhanced student understanding of how information is produced and transmitted and the

instructor believes this understanding leads to use of a greater variety of sources in their own

research, not because it is required, but because the students understand the value of the

different information sources that are available. The success of the activity contributes to the

view that critical thinking is and should be an essential component of information literacy

instruction. As the world of information expands and the avenues available to locate

information increase, the goal of library instruction should not only be about teaching library

or technical skills but also critical analysis and evaluation.

Appendix. Class worksheet

1. Identify the type of source you are evaluating and give a very brief summary of the

information found in the document. (For example: A book that analyzes the history and

culture of the country.)

2. Would you use this source for a country analysis? Why/why not?

Hint: How current is the information? Who wrote/published it? Who is the intended

audience? What is the purpose of the document? How credible is the information? Are there

references/documentation/supporting evidence?

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