Question

Sarah is writing a research paper over the helmet law for motorcyclists. Her thesis is that helmet laws do not really protect people's safety. She has decided to use the Internet for part of her research study. After doing a search for helmet safety, she comes across an article on the homepage for the American Medical Association about the benefits to wearing a helmet. The article is credited to Dr. Franklin Higgins, an emergency room doctor from Kansas City in residence in St. Elsewhere Medical Center. She bookmarks the site and continues to research. Later, she comes across a website called Biker's Heaven. There is a commentary that is written by an anonymous source about the ridiculousness of having to wear a helmet while driving in the city. What is one way for Sarah to decide which is the more credible source to use?

Answer 1

Sarah can evaluate the credibility of the sources by checking for the author's expertise, credentials, and the reputation of the website. In this case, Dr. Franklin Higgins is an emergency room doctor and his article is published on the website of the American Medical Association, which is a well-respected organization in the medical field. On the other hand, the anonymous commentary on Biker's Heaven lacks an author and does not provide any verifiable credentials, so it may not be considered as credible. Therefore, Sarah can use the article by Dr. Higgins as a more credible source for her research paper.