Title: Critical Thinking and the Wider Web
1Critical Thinking and the Wider Web
- Unit 1
- Checking Facts and
- Gathering Opinions
2How many countries are there in the world today
- Find three websites that provide an answer
- Fill in the boxes on the worksheet for each of
them - Comment on any notable features of the sites or
answers you discover
3How many countries are there in the world today
- The United Nations has 192 members plus one
permanent observer state making 193 - However other possible answers vary from around
189 to over 260 - For example 204 of the 205 National Olympic
Committees were represented at the 2008 Games in
Beijing
4How many countries are there in the world today
- Country has multiple definitions
- Infoplease.com suggests countries are
self-governing political entities - But constituent countries and dependent
territories complicate the issue
5How many countries are there in the world today
- For example England Scotland Wales and
Northern Ireland are frequently described as
countries - The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names supports
this - But DirectGov views the UK as one country made up
of these four
6Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names entry for
England
- http//www.getty.edu/vow/TGNFullDisplayfindEngla
ndplacenationprev_page1englishYsubjectid
7002445 Retrieved 11 August 2008
7Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names entry for
England
- http//www.getty.edu/vow/TGNFullDisplayfindEngla
ndplacenationprev_page1englishYsubjectid
7002445 Retrieved 11 August 2008
8Extract from DirectGov website
- http//www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandr
ights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 Retrieved 11
August 2008
9Extract from DirectGov website
- http//www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandr
ights/LivingintheUK/DG_10012517 Retrieved 11
August 2008
10How many countries are there in the world today
- Even with an agreed definition of country the
situation isnt clear cut - Some regions have declared independence but this
has not been universally recognised for example
Kosovo Taiwan and Tibet
11How many countries are there in the world today
- Various websites give an overview of the
situation - WorldAtlas.com
- The Geography Site
- About.com Geography
12Extract from WorldAtlas.com
- http//www.worldatlas.com/nations.htm Retrieve
d 6 June 2008
13Extract from The Geography Site
- http//www.geography-site.co.uk/pages/countries/ho
wmany.html Retrieved 11 August 2008
14How many countries are there in the world today
- The answer changes as the political situation
does but old sources may not be updated - This Ask Yahoo answer is from 2001 but is still
on the first page of results for the Google
search How many countries
15Ask Yahoos answer from 2001 but still on the
first page of Google results
- http//ask.yahoo.com/20010105.html Retrieved
6 June 2008
16Ask Yahoos answer from 2001 but still on the
first page of Google results
- http//ask.yahoo.com/20010105.html Retrieved
6 June 2008
17Summary - key things to note
- Definitions of central terms may affect the
answer - Even assuming a common definition opinions may
vary - Answers may change over time but sources may
not be updated
18Why might we find conflicting answers to a
question
- There may be real uncertainty about the answer
- Authorities may disagree
- There may be multiple ways of interpreting a
question
19Why might we find conflicting answers to a
question
- Some sources may be more up to date than others
- Answers may vary in precision
- Some sources may simply be wrong
20Questions to ask when assessing sources
- Who is the author
- An individual or an institution
- What are the authors credentials
- Is this a scholarly resource or a more informal
one - How up to date is this source
21Questions to ask when assessing sources
- Are there reasons to doubt the reliability of
this source - Does it include information I know to be false
- Does it contradict itself or use poor reasoning
- Is it biased towards a particular view
22Questions to ask when assessing sources
- Is the information provided confirmed by other
sources - Are references provided
- Do other websites agree (A major advantage of
the Web is that many sources can be compared
quickly and easily.)
23Remember the three Ws
- WHO wrote this site
- Is the author a trustworthy source
- WHEN was it written
- Is it up to date
- WHY was it written
- Does the author have an axe to grind
