Discovery and Attribution: From the Horse's Mouth

Take it or Leave it

Practice Evaluating Sources

A woman holding a huge pile of books

Now, you are going to practice evaluating sources. First, look over the example student's set-up and questions shown in the chart below. Next, read each description of a source and decide how reliable/usable the source is for the example presentation on violence in video games and its effect on gamers.

TOPIC: Violence in video games
PURPOSE: Persuade and inform
AUDIENCE: Gamers
MAIN QUESTION: How do violent video games affect the players?
ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE: Cause-Effect
PRELIMINARY THESIS: Playing violent video results in real world violence by the players.
Topic Video Games
Main (General) Discovery Question Does playing violent video games lead to violent behavior?
Focused Discovery Questions Which video games are considered violent? How do psychologists study the relationship between violent behavior and influences? What is aggressive behavior?
Specific Discovery Questions What kind of violence is portrayed in these games? Which demographic purchases or plays this game? What studies have been done on this subject? How can psychologists be sure that violence they observe is actually caused by games? Is the violent behavior anything to be concerned about, or is it minor violence? Are the violent behaviors exhibited immediately, or are they long term?
Follow up Question What could/should be done about this if it really is a problem?

Read the descriptions below and refer to the chart above to decide on the best description for the usability of the source. Examine the reliability, timeliness, level of bias, and relevance. Click on the answer text to reveal the usability.

The source is a gamer's forum supported by the University of California-Berkeley. Gamers review games for violence and action. In addition, they also often comment on how they feel when they play the games. The source was last updated this week.

  1. Extremely usable
  2. Somewhat usable
  3. Of questionable usability
  4. Unusable
answer
b or c. The source is somewhat usable or of questionable usability because it is a primary source that provides anecdotal evidence from a trusted source. While the source UC-Berkeley is trustworthy, the actual bloggers are not authorities on gaming and their information is not verified. There is no apparent bias in the source and it is up to date.

The source is a study conducted by the CDC in 1995 on viewing/gaming habits and aggression in children. Parents filled out surveys and children were interviewed by clinicians. Then, children were allowed to play violent games for an hour after which they were observed in a social setting. The author is a PhD.

  1. Extremely usable
  2. Somewhat usable
  3. Of questionable usability
  4. Unusable
answer
a or b. The source is a bit old, but the author’s and publisher’s reliability and the solid methodology of the study make it extremely worthwhile. In addition, it directly addresses the discovery questions.

An article published last month in People Magazine about a murderer who imitated scenarios found in the Grand Theft Auto game. The article does not include an interview with the killer. Only the Associated Press is credited in a general way.

  1. Extremely usable
  2. Somewhat usable
  3. Of questionable usability
  4. Unusable
answer
d. This source is not usable. It is from an infortainment source, which is biased toward presenting sensational news and making it more sensational. No specific sources receive attribution. Perhaps the most important problem is that while this source seems to be related to the topic, it does not answer any of the questions.