Evaluating and Interpreting Information Chapter 10 Evaluating and Interpreting Information Technical Communication, 11th Edition John M. Lannon

Questions to Ask When Evaluating Sources Is the source up-to-date? How current is the information? Is the printed source dependable? What is the sources reputation? Is the electronic source trustworthy? Can the source be trusted? Is the information relatively unbiased? Who sponsored the study and why? How does this source measure up to others? What are similar sources saying?

Evaluate the Evidence Is the evidence sufficient? Do you need more information to reach a conclusion? Is this hard evidence or soft evidence? Can it be verified? Is it opinion or speculation? Is the presentation of evidence balanced and reasonable? Is there any overstatement, omission of vital facts, or deceptive framing of the facts? How are the facts being framed? Does it attempt to obscure the real issue? Relay facts in a more positive light?

Interpret Your Findings What level of certainty is warranted? Do you need the ultimate truth, a probable answer, or would an inconclusive answer suffice? Are the underlying assumptions sound? E.g. IQ test scores predict academic performance. Assumptions: Students don’t know their scores, and all students receive the same curriculum. To what extent has personal bias influenced the interpretation? Are other interpretations possible?

Avoid Errors in Reasoning Identify and evaluate all possible causes and rule out unlikely ones Select the most probable causes and evaluate them Identify the definite or immediate causes

Avoid Errors in Reasoning Faulty Generalizations E.g. Female brains are smaller than male brains; therefore, women are the less intelligent gender. Faulty Causal Reasoning Why does our university not have daycare facilities? Lack of need, lack of interest, lack of space

Avoid Statistical Fallacies Give examples of each of the following type of erroneous or misleading statistic: The sanitized statistic The meaningless statistic The undefined average The distorted percentage figure The bogus ranking

Acknowledge the Limits of Research Obstacles to validity and reliability Valid – correct findings Reliability – findings that can be replicated Flaws in study design Sources of measurement error Sources of deception

See the checklist on interpreting research findings and chapter 10, page 194.

Interpretation Errors Exercise What’s wrong with these statements of findings? The overall cancer rate today is higher than in 1910. One out of every five patients admitted to Central Hospital dies? In a recent survey, rates of emotional depression differed widely among different countries – far lower in Asia than in Western countries. Teachers are mostly to blame for low test scores and poor discipline in public schools.

Faulty Assumptions Bottled water is safer than tap water. Forest fires should always be prevented or suppressed immediately. The fewer germs in the environment, the healthier the children. The more soy we eat, the better.