CMC Libraries: Evaluating Information: Home

Definitions

Information Literacy
Media Bias

Erica's definition: Information Literacy is the evaluation of information that we encounter everyday.

As defined by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL): "Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning."

Media bias includes opinions being represented as fact, facts being distorted or omitted, and loaded language that gives the impression of events or people in a light that is untrue and meant to sway the reader’s opinion instead of inform them.

Websites

Media Bias

Ad Fontes Interactive Media Bias Chart
See where your favorite news program rates on the media bias chart. Click here for information on how Ad Fontes determines chart location.
BBC News: Spotting 'fake news' among the real stories
A short video (2:38) explaining how to distinguish between suspect articles and real ones.
Lateral Reading Video by Stanford History Education Group
Short (3:47) video from Stanford History Education Group on the practice of lateral reading.
Northland Pioneer College Libraries' Media Bias Resources
RumorGuard
RumorGuard is part of the News Literacy Project (NLP). NLP created RumorGuard to help us all learn how to recognize misinformation and stop it in its tracks. Each fact-checked viral rumor contains concrete tips to help you build your news literacy foundation and confidently evaluate claims you see online. Within each viral rumor, you'll also see "5 factors" that may be at play: Source, Evidence, Context, Reasoning and Authenticity.
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
As stated in the Preamble, "Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity."
Snopes.com's Junk Article Archives
View Snopes.com's "best of the worst" junk articles. Snopes is a great fact-checking website for anything suspected of inaccuracy.

Information Literacy

ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
The Framework is organized into six frames, each consisting of a concept central to information literacy, a set of knowledge practices, and a set of dispositions. The six concepts that anchor the frames are presented alphabetically: Authority Is Constructed and Contextual, Information Creation as a Process, Information Has Value, Research as Inquiry, Scholarship as Conversation, and Searching as Strategic Exploration.
ACRL Information Literacy Library
Learn more about the terms as defined by the ACRL regarding information literacy.
University of Arizona Libraries' Information Literacy Tutorials
Take self-paced lessons and fun quizzes on information literacy, research, and more!

Instructional Reference Librarian

Jonathan Beam

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Subjects: Art, Biology, Education, English & Communication, Nursing & Health Sciences, Psychology, Sustainability