RELS 141: Contemporary Christian Morality (Linder): Home | Start Here

The Information Lifecycle

The Information Lifecycle models how information about an event, topic or idea might emerge and evolve over time. 
Note that this timeline is just a starting point to give you a general sense --  the transmission of information is not linear, and can look very different across different disciplines! 

Scholarly Sources

Scholarly sources are written by experts on a particular subject (for example, a professor or other researcher). They also (usually) go through an extra process of review and approval by a group of other experts before they can be published. Usually, scholarly articles are written in 'academic-ese' and designed to be read by other scholars. However, because scholarly sources take a long time to be approved and published, they are not always good sources for current events.  

A popular resource is a resource for 'popular' consumption -- it has been written so that most people can easily read and understand it. This might include newspapers or magazines, some books, and some journals written for people in specific jobs. While there is usually an editor who checks these sources for good writing and for errors, this is mostly done by a single person rather than a group. Popular articles are usually written by journalists or professional writers, although sometimes they are written by experts on a specific topic. 

How can you tell if you have a scholarly article in your hand? 
The chart below compares the characteristics of scholarly vs. popular (non-scholarly) sources:  

Asking Questions

No matter what you're researching or what kinds of information you're working with, you should always interrogate your sources. 

WHO...

 Who is the author?

 How is the author qualified?

 Is the author an expert?

 What is the author's bias? (Remember that a bias may not be directly stated -- but there is almost always some bias!))
 

WHAT...

 What is the source? Is it a research report? An entertainment piece? An opinion essay? 

 What does this tell you about the source's audience, purpose, and potential bias(es) or shortcoming(s)? 
 

WHEN...

 Is the source recent (or, if digital, regularly updated)?  When was it published? 

 Is there any information which seems out-of-date? 
 

WHERE...

 Who hosts the site? OR Who publishes this resource?

 Does the host/publisher have bias?  (Remember that a bias may not be directly stated.)

 What is the domain extension?

The publisher and/or domain can help you determine a website's origin. For example, .gov is the domain for United States government sites and .edu is for US Educational institutions. Note that not all .com sites are unreliable and not all .org sites are reputable -- .org simply means that the website is for a non-profit group.  This can include everything from charities, to libraries, to hate groups.

WHY...

 What is the purpose and audience of the source?

 What is the benefit, and/or who benefits, if this source reaches and/or successfully convinces readers? 

HOW...

 By what means was this source created? 

 Does the resource provide its sources?

 Does it refer/link you to other credible sources?

 Can you determine whether the information came from, and whether the original source/info is represented accurately?

Lateral Reading

Lateral Reading is a more nuanced technique of evaluating websites and other kinds of sources. 

While the questions on the previous page are a great place to start, sometimes you can't answer them completely -- or, sometimes, they don't give a complete picture of the information you are looking at. 

The video below explains what lateral reading is, why it's important, and how to do it. 

Publishing Privilege

Evaluating information means understanding who decides, and how, which information becomes available to you.  "Scholarly" publishing is, by its nature, a competitive process. In order to publish in a scholarly journal or through a university press, an author often has to demonstrate a track record of successful research, as well as certain credentials (usually a PhD in the field). There are also issues, historically, with who has been able to publish. This is not only because of individual publications, but also a result of which voices (and opinions) have historically been welcomed in academia. There's a lot to unpack here! 

Librarian Shea Swauger summed some of these issues up in College & Research Libraries News: 

"The history of scholarly publishing is less a meritocracy of ideas and more a reflection of who held privilege in society. Access to at least one, and often multiple, intersections of privilege were almost a requisite for being considered to join in the scholarly conversation. Who and what got published was largely determined by established power structures that favored maleness, whiteness, cis-gendered heterosexuality, wealth, the upper class, and Western ethnocentrism. Note that these are still the dominant structures that control our social and scholarly discourse." (Swauger 2017, p. 603)

Because of these issues, in certain fields / around certain topics, there has been growing acceptance of voices outside of the "traditional" academic sources. 

...& Information Privilege

Reliable information sources are expensive (which is why it's so hard to find them in Google!). People who are not affiliated with a college or university, who study/work at a university with poor funding, and/or who live in an area where internet may be restricted or unreliable, have less access to "scholarly" information than others. This influences who can benefit from scholarly information, and subsequently who is able to conduct research of their own on the basis of high-quality existing research. 

When scholars publish their work, they do sometimes have the option to make that work fully available for everyone to read. Much of the time, however, that option costs them thousands of dollars out of pocket (and note, by the way, that scholars do not get paid for publishing, peer-reviewing publications, or -- usually -- editing the publications together!). 

This graphic from Duke University Libraries shares examples of how information privilege can show up even at the student level: 

Get Started 

• First, get comfortable with your topic.  Start by determining, if you haven't already, any opposing positions engaged in this ethical dilemma -- there are many resources on this page to help you (a pro/con database might be a good place to start!).
   
• As you are getting started, you might also find it helpful to explore current, "popular" takes on the debate, from both sides. News sources can be useful for this purpose. Note, though, that your research should not stop here -- you need to locate solid, scholarly evidence. 
   
• You should also try to understand the history of your issue, because this history will influence how the issue exists and is understood today. 
   
• Remember that it is not enough to immerse yourself in one "side" of the issue. You should understand the strongest arguments on all "sides," and how they may be countered or mitigated. 
   
• Your goal is to be as informed as possible -- so leave yourself plenty of time! Brainstorm and consult different types of (credible!) sources which might fill gaps in your knowledge. There is more information about these resources throughout the guide. 

Break Down Your Topic: 

Say for your example that you have chosen to examine the ethics of information use/misuse. 

Consider: 

• Is this specific enough to research? Too specific? Is there anything missing?
• What else do I need to know before I can understand or make an argument about this topic? 
• What kinds of considerations do I need to take into account?
• What are other words that I could use to talk about this topic? 
• What are words that I could add or change to make this topic either bigger or smaller? 

DIAGRAM YOUR TOPIC: (optional, but recommended!) 

Try diagramming your topic as a brainstorming exercise. This can be one way of thinking through the many different directions and conversations that you might want to incorporate in your arguments. 

1. Start with the topic, question or argument you are working with. 
2. Underline the 2-3 main ideas (look for the nouns in your topic or question statement!). 
3. For each of the ideas you underline, try to come up with at least 2-3 synonyms, related terms or other ways of expressing that idea. write these down -- they will make good search terms as you embark on deeper research. 
4. Add in related concepts or questions that you may want to consider or search for. 
5. Identify (and circle or otherwise mark) parts of your statement or question that prompt further questions. Write these down -- these are questions you will want to consider. 
6. Identify parts of your statement or question where you think experts should weigh in -- note these as particular points that you should research! 
7. Continuing adding as you need and want -- don't be afraid to keep editing throughout your research process. 

Explore the Arguments: 

If you're struggling to identify the different sides or angles within your issue, try a Pro/Con tool. While secular (and not usually scholarly), these are reputable tools designed to give you insights into both sides of hot-topic issues. They can be good starting points to fuel your deeper research: 

"Reference" Books

The purpose of reference is in the name -- these are books you "refer" to rather than read.  You probably wouldn't read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica A to Z -- you'd go to the specific article(s) that talk about what you're interested in.  The same is true for the specialized resources recommended here. 

In this case, you might find it particularly helpful to consult scholarly reference books that specifically address Christian morality and theology, to help you get an overview of Christian/Catholic perspectives on the issues. Many of these are now available online; reference books that exist in the physical library are usually located in the Main Reading Room. 

Check the News: 

News media fall under the umbrella of popular sources, but can give you insight into the current discussions around a particular ethical issue (and might even help you find very specific case studies).

It's a good idea to practice lateral reading to examine news sources, especially those with which you are unfamiliar -- differences in funding, intended audience, etc. can lend bias to their coverage of controversial issues.