1 of 3 + POLS 3470 Winter 2024 Article Assessment Due through UMLearn by 6pm on February 7, 2024 Your Task: One of the challenges associated with being a critical consumer of information is in determining what is factual, what is misleading, what has its basis in ideology, and what is valid and reliable. For this assignment, you will choose one from the list of articles to answer the following questions. Once you've read through the article at least once, be sure that you answer each question fully, but succinctly. Some will require only a few words to answer, while others will require a few sentences (or even a paragraph) to answer. The total written assignment should be no more than 5 pages. Article Assessment Questions: Title 1. Is the title concise? Clear? 2. Does it describe the content of the article/report? Authority 3. Is the material produced by a known agency, organization, or expert? 4. Does the creator (writer/researcher/group of researchers) have authority in the field or topic in question? 5. Does the URL address of the website tell you who has produced the material? 6. Can you find an email address or other contact details for the author or organization responsible for the material online? Problem 7. Does the introduction clearly state the problem that the article/report is addressing? 8. Does the researcher(s)/author(s) describe how they're going to address the problem? 9. Do you think the problem is significant? Why'why not? Validity 10. Is the information thoroughly researched, objective, and reliable? How do you know? 11. Is there a bibliography/reference list included? 12. Can the information be verified? (IE can you check the references in the bibliography? Are authors names and publication dates given?) 13. Has online content been reviewed by a publisher, editor, or peer reviewer? Page 1 of 3 »/nAA Content 14. Is the text objective or subjective? How do you know? 15. Is the information factual, or is it opinion-based? 16. Is the information unique? Where else can you find the information? 17. What is the purpose of the article? To persuade people to believe what the researcher/writer believes? Or to test assumptions by collecting data? Assumptions 18. Does the author/researcher make the assumptions underlying the study explicit? 19. Do you think the assumptions are reasonable? 20. Are there other assumptions that aren't made explicit, that should be explicit? Comprehensiveness 21. Does the material discuss the topic from more than one perspective? 22. Is there a perspective or perspectives missing? 23. How detailed is the information? 24. Is the information limited to a certain time period? Purpose 25. Why has the author published this material? 26. Why is it published online? Has it been published in other formats/forums? Target audience 27. Who is the information intended for? Is the information up to date? 28. Is there a date on the document? 29. Is the information current? 30. Where might you find more current information? 31. Does the information need to be updated? Other 32. Is the information well organized? 33. Is it well-written? Grammatically correct? 34. If the article includes graphics, are they easy to read? 35. What questions are you left with after you finish reading the article? 36. What other questions do you think you should ask when critically assessing an article? Page 2 of 3 sityofmanitoba.desire2learn.com

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