Climate Change Science in the Media

Note

For general guidance on research, including evaluating information from websites see TRU Library’s “Evaluating Print and Web Resources” web page at http://libguides.tru.ca/evaluatesources. You may also want to consult TRU Library’s “Human Geography Research Guide” at http://libguides.tru.ca/c.php?g=193900&p=1276470.

The criteria for evaluating web resources, which you should use when evaluating all information from the Internet, will help you to formulate your critique.

For help with academic citations, consult TRU Library’s “APA Citation Style” web page at http://libguides.tru.ca/apa.

Consider the following additional points in your critique:

1.        What is the source of the story? For example:

a.         Who is the author and what is the author’s expertise (e.g., scientist, policy maker, industry representative, journalist, etc.)?

b.        What is the organization with which the writer is affiliated (industry, university, government, or other)?

c.         If the author is a scientist, what is his or her expertise with the subject area (e.g., what type of science)?

How does the story (and the author’s argument) fit with what you have learned about the science of climate change?

How does the author/skeptic deal with uncertainty?