Evaluating and Contextualizing Authority with Data

Students learn how to determine the authority of an information source. They examine different sources of information that all use the same dataset. Students define each source’s type of authority and recognize the context in which the data are being used. They learn to consider the source of authority for various information sources, and understand the ways that information sources with different levels of authority can base their credibility on the same dataset.

Objectives of this lesson:

Students will be able to

  • recognize that different types of authority (subject expertise, public office, first-hand experience) are presented in various media types,
  • describe the type of authority for a news item,
  • compare and contrast the authority of several sources of information,
  • recognize the responsibility of developing their own authoritative voice, and
  • articulate the context of a given source within the information ecosystem.

Compelling Question:

How do you assess the credibility and authority of different sources of information when all of them use the same data?

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Education Level: 9-12 ,  College ,  Non-educators
Subjects: Economics ,  Data Literacy
Concepts: Unemployment ,  Employment ,  Economy
Resource Types: Charts/Graphs ,  Data ,  Lesson ,  Website ,  Activity ,  Tutorial ,  Instructional Guide
Languages: English
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