Predicting and Preventing a "Dry Date" in South Central Texas

AUTHOR’S NAME:         Maria Reyes

TITLE OF THE LESSON:   Credibility of Sources

DATE OF LESSON:   April 17, 2007

LENGTH OF LESSON:   45-50 minutes

GRADE:   9-12

SOURCE OF THE LESSON:   Karen Ostlund

TEKS ADDRESSED:

Objectives:

Students will be able to distinguish from a credible and a non credible source.

Students will be able to determine if a source is credible.

Students will be able to determine is a source is primary, secondary, or tertiary.

RESOURCES:

SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS:

None

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS:

Worksheet

Article: 

Sources handout

            Article

Weekly World News - Print storyWeeklyWorldNews.com

      Paranormal Experts Baffled by 'Hypernatural' Beings

      By Jim Kuba February 15, 2007

      SENKAKU ISLANDS, East China Sea. -- China's fight with Japan for these

      desolate, oil-rich crags has lasted more than a century. But this week,

      both sides discovered a terrifying new opponent in their dispute.

      "I saw dark shapes rising from the water," said Tsang Diayou, a geologist

      who was aboard a Chinese vessel near the islands. "It looked like we'd had

      a massive hull-rupture and fuel was leaking. I wish that had been the

      case."

      Photos taken by the crew of a nearby Chinese Sovremenny-class destroyer

      depict dozens of human-like figures standing on the water around the

      vessels. The beings can be seen pressing against the bows of both ships,

      and -- in one dramatic photograph -- are actually capsizing the Japanese

      cruiser.

      "It looked like an army surrounding us," Tsang said after his vessel

      limped back to Hong Kong. "But an army of what?"

      The anomalies have both stumped and terrified paranormal experts.

      "In the same way that supernatural events defy scientific explanation,

      this happening defies explanation by any known paranormal methodology,"

      said Dr. Jan Brendt. "We are afraid that some new kind of demon or ghost

      is at large -- one that is noncorporeal yet is able to move physical

      matter.

      "We're not just talking about plates and picture frames that poltergeists

      occasionally toss about," Dr. Brendt added. "We're looking at paranormal

      forces that can overturn twelve thousand ton ships! If they ever show up

      in a populated area, think what they could do to a building or aircraft!"

      "It's rare for me to lose sleep over otherworldly occurrences," said the

      seasoned parapsychologist. "But if this force remains unexplained--and

      uncontained--it could turn out to be the most frightening development in

      the history of the paranormal."

Introduction

Sources of information are generally categorised as primary, secondary or tertiary depending on their originality and their proximity to the source or origin.

For example, scientific information moves through a dissemination cycle.  Initially, findings might be communicated informally by e-mail, then presented at meetings before being formally published as a primary source.  Once published, they will then be indexed in a bibliographic database, and repackaged and commented upon by others in secondary sources.

The designations of primary, secondary and tertiary differ between disciplines or subjects, particularly between what can generally be defined as the sciences and the humanities.

Primary sources for critic studying the literature of the Second World War are different from those for a research scientist investigating a new drug for arthritis.  The critic's primary sources are the poems, stories, and films of the era.  The research scientist's primary sources are the results of laboratory tests and the medical records of patients treated with the drug.

You should always check with your lecturer or tutor if in doubt.

Primary sources

Some definitions of primary sources:

·        Primary sources are original materials on which other research is based

·        They are usually the first formal appearance of results in the print or electronic literature (for example, the first publication of the results of scientific investigations is a primary source.)

·        They present information in its original form, neither interpreted nor condensed nor evaluated by other writers.

·        They are from the time period (for example, something written close to when what it is recording happened is likely to be a primary source.)

·        Primary sources present original thinking, report on discoveries, or share new information.

Some examples of primary sources:

·        scientific journal articles reporting experimental research results

·        proceedings of Meetings, Conferences and Symposia.

·        technical reports

·        dissertations or theses (may also be secondary)

·        patents

·        sets of data, such as census statistics

·        works of literature (such as poems and fiction)

·        diaries

·        autobiographies

·        interviews, surveys and fieldwork

·        letters and correspondence

·        speeches

·        newspaper articles (may also be secondary)

·        government documents

·        photographs and works of art

·        original documents (such as birth certificate or trial transcripts)

·        Internet communications on e-mail, listservs, and newsgroups

Secondary Sources

Some Definitions of Secondary Sources

Secondary sources are less easily defined than primary sources.  What some define as a secondary source, others define as a tertiary source.

Nor is it always easy to distinguish primary from secondary sources.  A newspaper article is a primary source if it reports events, but a secondary source if it analyses and comments on those events.

In science, secondary sources are those which simplify the process of finding and evaluating the primary literature.  They tend to be works, which repackage, reorganise, reinterpret, summarise, index or otherwise “add value” to the new information reported in the primary literature.

More generally, secondary sources

·        describe, interpret, analyse and evaluate the primary sources

·        comment on and discuss the evidence provided by primary sources

·        are works, which are one or more steps removed from the event, or information they refer to, being written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.

Some examples of secondary sources:

·        bibliographies (may also be tertiary)

·        biographical works

·        commentaries

·        dictionaries and encyclopedias (may also be tertiary)

·        dissertations or theses (more usually primary)

·        handbooks and data compilations (may also be tertiary)

·        history

·        indexing and abstracting tools used to locate primary & secondary sources (may also be tertiary)

·        journal articles, particularly in disciplines other than science (may also be primary)

·        monographs (other than fiction and autobiography)

·        newspaper and popular magazine articles (may also be primary)

·        review articles and literature reviews

·        textbooks (may also be tertiary)

·        treatises

·        works of criticism and interpretation

Tertiary Sources

This is the most problematic category of all.  Fortunately, you will rarely be expected to differentiate between secondary and tertiary sources.

Some Definitions of Tertiary Sources

·         works which list primary and secondary resources in a specific subject area

·        works, which index, organise and compile citations to, and show you how to use, secondary (and sometimes primary) sources.

·        materials in which the information from secondary sources has been "digested" - reformatted and condensed, to put it into a convenient, easy-to-read form.

·        Sources which are once removed in time from secondary sources

Some examples of tertiary sources:

·        almanacs and fact books

·        bibliographies (may also be secondary)

·        chronologies

·        dictionaries and encyclopedias (may also be secondary)

·        directories

·        guidebooks, manuals etc

·        handbooks and data compilations (may also be secondary)

·        indexing and abstracting tools used to locate primary & secondary sources (may also be secondary)

·        textbooks (may also be secondary)

Some comparative examples of primary, secondary and tertiary sources

For further information see: Literature of the Sciences http://www.library.jcu.edu.au/pd/lbawgs/litsci.html

 and

Yale University Library - Primary Sources Research http://www.library.yale.edu/ref/err/primsrcs.htm

Written by Ward Saylor & Helen Hooper for Information and Research Support, within the Information Services program

of the Academic Support Division at James Cook University, July, 2000.

WORKSHEET

Evaluating Sources

Can you image the difficulty you would have if all your knowledge had to come directly through one or more of your senses, that is, from firsthand observations?  Fortunately, much of the information you acquire today comes to you through secondhand sources.  A secondhand source may be a magazine or newspaper article, a report on radio or TV, a textbook, or even a billboard message.  Each of these is a secondhand source when the reporter did to rely directly on one or more of the senses to obtain the information, but instead, reported information gathered by others.

Since you depend so heavily on secondhand sources of information, it is important to be able to determine whether a source is reliable.  What can you look for in a report that will help you judge its reliability?  What questions can you ask about the reporter and the medium through which the information gets reported to help you judge the reliability of a secondhand source? The purpose of this activity is to give you practice in critically reviewing a secondhand source in order to determine its reliability.

Write the headline of your newspaper article in the box below.

List questions you would like answered before deciding whether or not to believe this headline.

1.                                                                                                                    

2.                                                                                                                    

3.                                                                                                                    

4.                                                                                                                    

5.                                                                                                                    

6.                                                                                                                    

7.                                                                                                                    

Analyze the questions you listed.

§       Place a C in the box in front of questions that ask for clarification.

§       Place an S in the box in front of the questions that ask about the source.

§       Place an E in the box in front of the questions that ask for evidence.

What other possible explanations could you give for the event described in the headline?

What reasons might you have for questioning the reliability of information in this headline?

What could you do and/or what questions could you ask to establish whether or not the information in this headline is reliable?

What did you think about in coming up with your reasons for questioning the reliability of the information in the headline?

List the factors you considered when you tried to determine the reliability of the source of information in the headline.

What would you advise someone to think about each time s/he reads or hears secondhand information?

Newspapers are one of the major sources of information for the general public.  Almost all of the information presented in such a source is secondhand.  Locate a newspaper article that deals with a scientific issue, for example, global climate change, acid rain, nuclear power, chemical spills, AIDS, pollution, or waste disposal.  After reading the article, describe how you would determine the reliability of its source.  Are there things you need to consider here that you do not have to consider when determining the reliability of the textbook as a secondhand source?

Write the headline of your newspaper article in the box below.

List questions you would like answered before deciding whether or not to believe this headline.

1.                                                                                                                    

2.                                                                                                                    

3.                                                                                                                    

4.                                                                                                                    

5.                                                                                                                    

6.                                                                                                                    

7.                                                                                                                    

Analyze the questions you listed.

§       Place a C in the box in front of questions that ask for clarification.

§       Place an S in the box in front of the questions that ask about the source.

§       Place an E in the box in front of the questions that ask for evidence.

What other possible explanations could you give for the event described in the headline?

What reasons might you have for questioning the reliability of information in this headline?

What could you do and/or what questions could you ask to establish whether or not the information in this headline is reliable?

What did you think about in coming up with your reasons for questioning the reliability of the information in the headline?

List the factors you considered when you tried to determine the reliability of the source of information in the headline.

What would you advise someone to think about each time s/he reads or hears secondhand information?

Lesson 2: Water as a Universal Solvent