Library Corner: An Exercise to Help Students Evaluate Information Critically

by Scott Watkins, Head of Educational Services, Mason Libraries

A recent blog post at libraryvoice.com describes an interesting exercise used in a library instruction session in a first-year English class at Ohio University. In this brief exercise, students watch a YouTube clip of a news report about a potentially controversial issue (in this case, the topic is sex in video games), and then the librarian asks what questions might be raised by the report: Does the news report present the topic objectively? What criteria make the guest commentator an “expert” on the topic? Are the statistics cited in the report accurate? How can we know for sure? For more details about how the librarian examines these questions to guide the students through the process of evaluating information critically, see http://tinyurl.com/evaluationexercise.

Prior to arranging a library instruction session, think about how the session might best contribute to the specific research-related outcomes you want students to achieve in the course and how it might best support these desired outcomes. We invite you to contact your Mason librarians in Educational Services to discuss how we might best support the specific research needs of your students: edserv@gmu.edu.