Why Is It Important to Consider a Source's Biases?

Question

How can you dertermine a source's bias?
Why Is It Important to Consider a Source's Biases?

Answer 1

Wow... Interesting question.

I think that people tend to hear what they agree with. If I were trying to convince you that abortion is wrong, I would tell you about the "baby" and and tell you it feels pain and god has a plan before you're born, etc.

On the other hand, if I were trying to convice you it's okay, I would tell you about fetal development and brainwave paterns inability to feel pain and such.

Both arguments are probably true at some point in the development of a human baby, but people tend to only tell you the parts that suit their arguments, so you need to understand not only whay they are saying it, but what their motivations are. sometimes people do this without knowing it... i suspect you caould probably tell where I stand on the abortion issue just by the way I framed my arguments for that example! So in order to have faith in information, you need to understand what other influences there are.

Answer 2

Let's say you are talking about what President Bush has done since he has been in office. If you are a republican who is a close aid of the President, you will probably list every positive thing he has done since his innauguration in 2001. If you were John Kerry or Hillary Clinton, you would probably list every negative thing he has done in the same period. A source's biases very much make the difference in what you are reading.

If you are doing research, try to find source's that have both sides of any argument you may be looking into so that you can form a more educated and balanced opinion.

Answer 3

If you're asserting something as fact, you have to be very careful to pry the facts away from opinions or preconceptions or prejudices. Here's an example: If you ask your average American how he/she feels about the conflict between Israel and Lebanon, most would say that Israel shouldn't have used its military against Lebanon. However, if you ask an American who has relatives living in Israel the same question, you'll get a VERY different answer. Another example: If a man told you he saw an African American teenager hold up a liquor store, you would probably tend to believe him -- would your opinion change if you found out this man who supposedly witnessed the crime is a member of the KKK? See, sources should be objective, but most of the time they're not. It takes a smart person to know they can believe half of what they hear, but it takes a wise person to know which half to believe.

Answer 4

BECAUSE THE INFORMATION YOU GET FROM THE SOURCE WILL BE ALLIGNED WITH IT...ie. SIMPLE EXAMPLE WOULD BE A PRO CHOICE ADVOCATE WILL RUN THE INFORMATION FROM HIS OWN CONVICTIONS. OR A MED SCHOOL OUTPOST IN MEXICO... ISNT NECESSARILY USING ACCEPTED METHODS, BUT STILL CAN PUT INFORMATION IN A REFERENCE MANUAL.