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Jacqueline did a yeoman's job (ok, yeoperson's) in tracking down the = rumor. But we can extend the piece of 'being a critical consumer'. This started on a somewhat political note, I'll try to be = careful and return back to school oriented example later. Though with two fairly politically aware HS kids at home, I could well = imagine this topic becoming a research paper or informed opinion piece... Yes, the exaggerated bits of the rumor (barring passage to Canada, etc) = were disproved. However, the bill is sitting in committee. Want to do some research on how long or quickly it could take to land on = a president's desk? And an Ebsco search for "Selective Service" board AND volunteer And 2004 brings up several newspaper, = magazine, and Congressional Digest articles. Many don't specifically cite their source ('Selective Service officials...') while = others cite names. Such as these quotes in the 06/07/2004 Chicago Tribune article by Michael Kilian: "Asked at a Pentagon town = meeting with military personnel last month if there would be a draft after the election, Rumsfeld replied: "I don't think so." And "Lt. = Col. Franklin Childress, spokesman for the Army's personnel branch, .... He added, however, "You never know what's going to happen in the = future." (title: New Troop Strengthening Measures Fuel Persistent Rumors of Draft's Return). This is just one or two searches in a single general database. I'd = imagine a really curious person (especially one in cohouts with librarians who really knew their resources) could come up with a lengthy = list of names and quotes on the topic to start a more serious investigation. And what part of the reporter's notes or = observations didn't make the story or past the editor? So often, our research is for the one fact, the one statement. We don't = always look at the sum total of the available information and look at the bigger picture. And the 'find 5 resources' assignment = doesn't entail the depth that further digging would provide.=20 So, have any of the quoted sources said anything more?, Are the quoted = sources reliable and consistent? Taking a basic bit of information from any one article, does it fit to the general pattern of = information?, There was a surge of stories in a couple of months, did the story just not 'gain traction' or did reporters not = continue to pursue it, looking for something more headline producing?, Do budget allocations for this and next year seem in line = with previous years?, Any articles out there discussing the other articles?, Are the quotes reliable?, Dig around in transcripts, = anything thing there?. Note that the FactCheck.org site only cites 2 newspaper articles, was very recently modified and we don't know = what was changed, quotes only one available Rumsfeld source, and is basically a persuasive piece. And I like FactCheck.org! If a kid were in the library doing a report on child abuse for health = class, we would work with them to find a reliable source of statistics. That may entail comparing 2-3 places. We'd look for some = resources that other people cite (ie, weblinks and 'further reading' from the encyclopedia article). Trying to compile a list of = probable causes might require looking a several lists and looking for commonalities and asking about the outliers. Trying to group = various causes into categories would kick us up the Bloom ladder. Or has someone already looked at doing that?=20 OK, I tried to come up with some 'skeptical bone' and Vioxx witticism, = but I'm probably in enough trouble. And I do agree, our jobs become more important every year. We are no = longer only the storers nor the getters of information, we should be providing the tools needed to help all learn importance of, = and the tools needed, to be critical consumers of information. Robert Eiffert, Librarian Pacific Middle School, Vancouver WA Pac.egreen.wednet.edu/library Beiffert at egreen wednet edu Beiffert at Comcast net Jacqueline Henry wrote (heavily snipped): > So - I have learned my lesson. I defintely should know better. I = know > that a .org is NO guarantee of reliable information. I DID fact check > the existence of the bill - but I should have gone much further and > checked the other allegations. It will be a very good example to = share > with my students. And it raises my concern again about how easy it is > to fall into the trap of misinformation. >=20 > Our jobs get more important every year. -------------------------------------------------------------------- All LM_NET postings are protected by copyright law. 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