1.1 Critical evaluation of sources – knowledge check activity transcript
The scenario
Paola is a first-year university student studying business management. She needs to write a report on the following topic:
“You work for an Australian investment company. Your manager has asked you to investigate the pros and cons of investing in renewable energy initiatives.”
To help her investigate her topic, Paola speaks to Maryam, a librarian at her university. She asks Maryam some questions about some of the information she has found.
Source one
Paola to Maryam: “I found this website about the coal industry. It’s called Learn the REAL Truth. Do you think that the author is an authority on the topic?”
An image shows a fictional web page. The URL is learntherealtruth.com.auz and the page says: Learn the REAL truth – come inside and discover why governments everywhere FEAR Cody Barroxx!
Question
Do you think that Maryam will tell Paola that the author of the website is an authority on the subject of renewable energy? Yes or No?
Answer
No.
Maryam’s feedback: Actually, Paola, this website looks like it has been created by a conspiracy theorist. I looked at the homepage, and there seem to be many claims the author has made that are quite radical and not backed up by any supporting information. I wouldn’t recommend using this website for your assignment. I highly doubt that the author is an authority on the subject.
Source two
Paola to Maryam: “How about this website from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and water that provides information about renewable energy sources in Australia?”
An image shows a fictional web page. The URL is energy.gov.au and the page says: Renewable Energy Consumption. A map shows different percentages in Australian states.
Question
Do you think that Maryam will tell Paola that this website is a reliable source of information? Yes or No?
Answer
Yes.
Maryam’s feedback: It’s a great idea to read figures from government organisations and you can include those figures in your work as well, as long as you reference them. Generally speaking, government departments and agencies are considered reliable, although I do recommend checking the information carefully with other sources and not solely relying on government information.
Source three
Paola to Maryam: “I did a search on Google Scholar and found an article from a journal called Journal of Investing. I looked it up, and it seems like it has a good reputation in the investment world. What do you think?”
An image shows a fictional web page. The URL is pubs.rsc.org/en/journals and the page says: Wind energy: green and profitable by Karl Preston. It also has the title of the journal, an option to download the article, and also information including the author, publication date, volume and issue, and the article DOI (digital object identifier).
Question
Do you think that Maryam will tell Paola that this website is a reliable source of information? Yes or No?
Answer
Yes.
Maryam’s feedback: Journal of Investing is a well-renowned, peer-reviewed journal. That means that all the articles they publish are checked by experts in the field to ensure that the information they contain is valid, accurate and good quality. You can be pretty sure that the information from peer-reviewed articles is reliable and that the authors are authorities on the subject. However, remember to think critically when you read them and don’t rely on articles that were published a long time ago.
Source four
Paola to Maryam: “I wanted to use information from this book. It’s called ‘Clean coal: cleaning up the energy industry’ and it’s by Prof. Sandra Kimani. I did a search for the author and found out that she was a professor at a Kenyan university until 1993 and that the book was published in 1986. Do you think this is a useful source for my report?”
An image shows a book with the title Clean Coal: cleaning up the energy industry, the author’s name, and a picture of coal in a soapy bathtub.
Question
Do you think that Maryam will tell Paola that this book is a useful source for her report? Yes or No?
Answer
No.
Maryam’s feedback: It’s great that you’ve done some research on the author. It appears that she was an expert in this area in the 80s and 90s. However, a lot of time has passed since this book was written, so it does not have currency. The energy industry and the environment have changed a lot since then. A more current source would be more useful for your report.
Source five
Paola to Maryam: “I did a Google search and found this article called ‘The exaggerated benefits of solar power.’ It says the study was conducted by scientists from Kaldan Mining Co. I looked up this company and on their home page it says they own several mines in Queensland. I shouldn’t use this article in my report, right?”
An image shows a web page. The URL is caldamlabs.com.au and the page says: Welcome to Caldam Mining Co. Need coal? We’ve got you covered.
Question
Do you think that Maryam will agree that Paola shouldn’t use the article in her report? Yes or No?
Answer
Maryam’s feedback: You’re right. I would be very wary of studies that were commissioned by companies that may have a particular interest in a topic. For example, Caldam Mining Co. owns and extracts coal. So, releasing a study stating that other sources of energy are not effective is beneficial to their company. I don’t think this article would be objective.
