BA 330 (Coon) - Managerial Communications

What are you thinking as you begin reading this source? What do you know so far? 

First, when you first hit a page or post and start to read it — STOP. Ask yourself whether you know the website or source of the information, and what the reputation of both the claim and the website is. 

You might also want to stop and check you emotions here. Are you feeling upset, or angry by what you read? Why? Can you set aside your emotions temporarily to investigate the claims of the information source? 

What can you find out about the publisher/distributor/website? Who is the author?

You want to know what you're reading before you read it. You don’t have to do a Pulitzer prize-winning investigation into a source before you engage with it. But if you’re reading a piece on economics by a Nobel prize-winning economist, you should know that before you read it. Conversely, if you’re watching a video on the many benefits of milk consumption that was put out by the dairy industry, you want to know that as well.

This doesn’t mean the Nobel economist will always be right and that the dairy industry can’t be trusted. But knowing the expertise and agenda of the source is crucial to your interpretation of what they say. Taking sixty seconds to figure out where media is from before reading will help you decide if it is worth your time, and if it is, help you to better understand its significance and trustworthiness.

Can you find this same information from other credible sources? 

Think about the actual claim your source is making. You'll need to figure out whether the claim is true or false, and whether the claim reflects a consensus viewpoint rather than a contested or controversial one. In this case, your best strategy may be to ignore the source that reached you, and look for trusted reporting or analysis on the claim.

Understanding the context and history of a claim will help you better evaluate it and form a starting point for future investigation.

What is the original published source of this information? Does it match what your source says? Are other information sources linked to directly?

Much of what we find on the internet has been stripped of context. Maybe a claim is made about a new medical treatment based on a research finding, but you’re not certain if the cited research paper really said that.

When in doubt, see if you can trace the claims back to their original source, such as the original research paper or the full post. You can do this by looking at citations, searching in library databases, or looking for other sources on the open web that discuss the same issue or claim.