Lamson Library: CJ Emerging Technology: Kinds of Information Sources

Examples

Opinion

Data/Facts

Knowledge/Information

Empirical Expertise

We take in and share information in lots of different formats: websites, books, newspapers, magazines, journal articles, conversations, texts, emails, etc...

The combination of these information sources to which we are exposed becomes the sum of what we know about a subject. Each source has the potential to be valuable addition to knowledge of the world around us. Each source also has the potential to be incorrect.

A single information source may be an opinion, raw data or facts, knowledge or information, empirical expertise or even any combination of all four.

For the sake of our investigation let's define just these four:

Opinion

A personal point of view. Where is the evidence for this statement?

Example:

"We are EX-VAXXERS who have learned the hard way that we have been lied to, and in many cases harmed How else is one supposed to react to the realisation that one has been deliberately abused in this way? Far too many stories of ‘my child was fine, then he was vaccinated, now he’s not fine’ and the experience of patients and parents can no longer be dismissed as irrelevant to the subject."

Source: Redshaw, M. (2018, May 5). Vaccines don't work. Here are the facts. [Blog post.] Retrieved from https://www.livingwhole.org/vaccines-dont-work-here-are-the-facts/

Data
Facts

Raw facts or statistics without analysis.

Example:

Source: Centers for Disease Control (2017). Table 66: Vaccination coverage... Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/2017/066.pdf

Knowledge Information

(Generally a secondary source.)

Something known as a result of the work of others. The information may come from studies or published results of scientific experiments, but these studies or experiments were not conducted by the author. This is the most common sort of information you'll find. (Secondary Source)

Example:

"Globally, the number of deaths from measles fell dramatically between 2000 and 2010. The Measles and Rubella Initiative, a collaboration between the World Health Organization (WHO) and other groups, reduced the number of global measles deaths by 74 percent between 2000 and 2010. The number of measles cases increased in 2010 and the first half of 2011, however. Experts attribute the spike in number of cases to a number of factors, including continued resistance to the administration of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination by some parents. Although now widely discredited, fears apparently continue to linger that the MMR vaccine causes autism. Severe cases of measles result in an estimated 140,000 deaths each year." (pp. 4452-4453)

Source: Vaccine. (2014). In K. L. Lerner & B. W. Lerner (Eds.), The Gale Encyclopedia of Science (5th ed., Vol. 8, pp. 4551-4553). Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Retrieved from https://link-gale-com.libproxy.plymouth.edu/apps/doc/CX3727802521/GVRL?u=plysc_main&sid=GVRL&xid=1604c10f

Empirical Expertise

(primary source.)

Scientifically verified knowledge acquired through personal observation or experimentation and reported by the person or persons who did the observation or who performed the experiment. (primary source)

"Our goal was to examine immunization beliefs and practices to help elucidate this decision-making process by conducting an online survey of families with an ASD-affected child participating in a US autism registry. We hypothesized that among families with an ASD-affected child, maternal education level, geographic region and secular trends, and belief in a vaccine–autism link in an index child’s ASD all influence uptake of the childhood vaccine series among younger siblings.6"

Source:

Rosenberg, R. E., Law, J. K., Anderson, C., Samango-Sprouse, C., & Law, P. A. (2013). Survey of vaccine beliefs and practices among families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Clinical Pediatrics, 52(9), 871–874. https://doi-org.libproxy.plymouth.edu/10.1177/0009922812438435

Exercise 5: Question #1

Kinds of Information: Question #1

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

Source:

CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] (2019) Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Data and statistics. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

The text in the box above is an example of....

Opinion -- How someone feels or what they think or believe about an issue.: 0 votes (0%)

Data / Facts -- Raw data or facts that haven't been interpreted.: 1 votes (33.33%)

Knowledge / Information -- A description or analysis of an issue that may be drawn from a variety of sources.: 2 votes (66.67%)

Empirical Expertise / Wisdom -- Specialized knowledge gained from personal experience or experimentation, usually achieved through years of specialized study or practice.: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 3

Exercise 5: Question #2

Kinds of Information: Question #2

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

Source:

Taylor, B., Miller, E., Farrington, C.P., Petropoulous, M., Favot-Mayaud, I., Li, J. ...Waight, P.A. (1999). Autism and Measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: No epidemiological evidence for a causal association. Lancet 353(9169), 2026-2029. Retrieved from:

http://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.plymouth.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=107212596&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=plymouth

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

We undertook a population-based study in the North East Thames region to investigate trends in the incidence of autistic disorders before and after the introduction of MMR vaccine in October, 1988, and the immunisation histories of children with these disorders. We used case series analysis methods to test for clustering of onsets within defined post-vaccination periods.

The text in the box above is an example of...

Opinion -- How someone feels or what they think or believe about an issue.: 0 votes (0%)

Data / Facts -- Raw data or facts that haven't been interpreted.: 0 votes (0%)

Knowledge / Information -- A description or analysis of an issue that may be drawn from a variety of sources.: 0 votes (0%)

Empirical Expertise / Wisdom -- Specialized knowledge gained from personal experience or experimentation, usually achieved through years of specialized study or practice.: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Exercise 5: Question #3

Kinds of Information: Question #3

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

Source:

Handley, J. B. (2011). 2004 and the birth of the hungry lie, "Vaccines don't cause autism." Age of Autism: Daily Web Newspaper of the Autism Epidemic. Retrieved from:

https://www.ageofautism.com/2011/01/2004-and-the-birth-of-the-hungry-lie-vaccines-dont-cause-autism.html

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

Parents, I could go on, please don’t make me. Just do me a favor, challenge these idiots. Challenge them to defend their sweeping generalizations with facts. The facts all fall to our side. They have no science, they know it, so when a Brain Deer [sic] comes along, they just pounce, and hope we all go away. Will you?

The text in the box above is an example of...

Opinion -- How someone feels or what they think or believe about an issue.: 0 votes (0%)

Data / Facts -- Raw data or facts that haven't been interpreted.: 0 votes (0%)

Knowledge / Information -- A description or analysis of an issue that may be drawn from a variety of sources.: 0 votes (0%)

Empirical Expertise / Wisdom -- Specialized knowledge gained from personal experience or experimentation, usually achieved through years of specialized study or practice.: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Exercise 5: Question #4

Kinds of Information: Question #4

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

Source:

Autism. (2019). In Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Retrieved from Opposing Viewpoints in Context database. http://link.galegroup.com.libproxy.plymouth.edu/apps/doc/PC3010999051/OVIC?u=plysc_main&sid=OVIC&xid=fb78a79

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

In 1998, British physician Andrew Wakefield published an article that claimed to establish a link between a common vaccine usually administered in early childhood and the onset of autism. Wakefield argued that the vaccine given to children for measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) might actually cause autistic disorders and noted that eight of the twelve children referenced in the article showed developmental problems within two weeks of receiving the vaccination. The paper was widely criticized by the medical community, and several studies were conducted to test the notion of a link between vaccines and autism. None of the studies supported Wakefield's initial findings, and the paper was retracted by the journal that published it. In 2010, Wakefield lost his medical license.

The text in the box above is an example of....

Opinion -- How someone feels or what they think or believe about an issue.: 0 votes (0%)

Data / Facts -- Raw data or facts that haven't been interpreted.: 0 votes (0%)

Knowledge / Information -- A description or analysis of an issue that may be drawn from a variety of sources.: 0 votes (0%)

Expertise / Wisdom -- Specialized knowledge gained from personal experience or experimentation, usually achieved through years of specialized study or practice.: 0 votes (0%)

Total Votes: 0

Kinds of Information: Question #1

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original. 2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

Kinds of Information: Question #2

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original. 2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

Kinds of Information: Question #3

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original. 2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

Kinds of Information: Question #4

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original. 2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

What did they say? Who said it? Why did they say it?

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.

1. Click on the link in the source to look at the original.
2. Evaluate the text in the gray box to answer the question.