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Hi, I'm Sarah Morehouse, one of the librarians at Empire State College. This video will help
you understand why it is so important to know what audience and what purpose the creator
of an information source had in mind, and why that has an impact on your decision whether
to use that information source. You can figure out the intended audience of an information
source just by reading, watching, or listening to it. The clues are found in the parts of
the subject matter that are discussed; at what level the subject is discussed; and so
forth. I won't go into any more detail, because this is something you've been doing instinctively
since you were a kid. The intended audience of an information source is important because
it affects what information it provides and at what level of detail and complexity. The
first and easiest way to break down the intended audience of an information source, is by age
group. An information source intended for children or adolescents won't give you the
advanced concepts and dense details about a topic that you need for academic research.
Those materials are simplified and embellished to appeal to a younger developmental stage
and grade level. There are information sources created for adults of all levels of interest
in and knowledge about a topic. An information source intended for "general audiences" is
written for adults who don't know too much about a topic and aren't interested in becoming
experts. This is something like an article in Readers Digest or the health segment on
the morning news show. Information sources for general audiences explain more of the
basic concepts and skip over the more advanced ones. They often oversimplify. If they are
not written very well, they can leave you with a distorted understanding of the topic.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are information sources that were created for
experts on a topic. The audience is expected to know the basics and the definitions of
the vocabulary already. Information is provided at a very high level, with details and advanced
concepts covered in depth. Information sources intended for audiences that are expert will
talk about technical details and research methods. They will give you data and citations
to the sources they used. Then, in the middle, there is a whole range of information sources
that are intended for adults who are interested in the topic but are not experts. Examples
are articles in US News and World Report or National Geographic, non fiction books that
you would commonly find in Barnes and Noble and other bookstores, and some good documentaries.
These kinds of information sources provide some details, define the vocabulary, and explain
the basic and maybe intermediate concepts while trying to appeal to the interest of
people who are not making it their life's work to understand the subject matter. Here
is an example of something meant for a general audience. It's from a Readers Digest article
about weight loss tips. This tip suggests eating "fat releasing foods," including dark
chocolate. The article doesn't provide any biological or medical explanations. This kind
of information source is basically something to keep you from getting bored in a waiting
room. This article from Discovery News is an example of something that's still meant
for a general audience, but it's a much more sophisticated general audience. You can see
how it provides a lot more detail. They even talk a little bit about the research methods
- they mention that it wasn't a randomized trial because they don't want their audience
to get too excited and think that the results are conclusive. But it doesn't have enough
detail about the research methods or the exact findings, because that would go over the audience's
head. It doesn't provide data or citations because the audience is not interested in
those things. So while this article might be interesting to read; it might make you
want to research the topic further; it's not a good information source for academic research.
What these high level general audience information sources are good for is helping you stay informed
about a wide variety of topics, and maybe helping you make decisions in your everyday
life. This last example is from scholarly article. Scholarly articles are always meant
for an audience of experts. The research methods are described in detail, and so is the statistical
analysis. There are charts and tables so you can look at the data for yourself, and a references
section so you can follow the authors' footprints and see how they drew their conclusions. This
is the kind of information source that you need for college-level research projects.
It depends what you're doing with the information source whether it needs to be for an audience
of experts, or for just a smart general audience. In everyday life, when I need to fix my plumbing,
I am not going to go to the library and take out a manual intended for expert plumbers,
because it would be over my head. But I'm not going to take out The Clueless Homeowner's
Guide to Making Your Tubes Not Leak either. I need something intended for general audiences,
but smart general audiences. I want simple explanations and easy to understand illustrations,
but I don't want it to be dumbed down. I'm just replacing my flapper valve, not trying
to make groundbreaking discoveries in the field of hydraulic engineering, so it's ok
to pick an information source that's meant for a sensible, reasonably well-informed general
audience. But when you're writing a research paper, you need access to the raw data. You
need to know the research methods. You need to see the citations so you can look up the
ones that are relevant to you. You need the level of detail and the advanced concepts.
Those kinds of things will only be found in information sources that were created for
an expert audience. As you may have noticed, there is a big overlap between this topic
of intended audience, and the topic of scholarly versus popular information sources. That's
because one of the two factors that defines scholarly sources is that they are written
by experts, for an audience of experts. Expert level knowledge is not the only good knowledge
out there, but it is the kind of knowledge that is required for academic research. There
are kinds of research that are not academic, and even when you are using non-scholarly
information sources, you need to be aware of what audience the author is writing or
speaking for. Are they leaving things out and dumbing things down, or do they trust
you to handle more sophisticated information? Now for the second topic of this video. You
can also figure out the intended purpose of an information source from what parts of the
subject matter it covers, and how it covers them. Of all the different purposes an information
source can have, you want ones that are intended strictly to inform or educate. Aside from
informing and educating, one of the most common purposes is to entertain. The thing about
entertainment is that it can say things that aren't true, but it's not lying. It's just
fiction, or dramatic effect, or poetic license. Some entertainment is purely made up, but
other entertainment is twisting and embellishing on reality. An example is reality shows. You
may learn a few tidbits by watching the show, but you can't really rely it not to exaggerate,
oversimplify, leave things out, or mix fact with fiction. Satire is defined as ridicule
that's directed at the folly or wrongdoing of either individuals or society as a whole.
Basically, satire is comedy that criticizes. Popular satirical information sources are
Jon Stewart's Daily Show and the fake news web site The Onion. Satire may be based on
reality, but the author is trying to make a point and be funny, so the facts may be
distorted or mixed with fiction. Persuasion is a really common purpose for information
sources. When an information source is created to persuade, it has an agenda. It may present
facts, but it will present them in a way that's calculated to change your mind or alter your
behavior. The author may overemphasize things that help their argument and leave out things
that weaken their argument. Editorials are a very common persuasive information source
that are found in newspapers and programs. They often don't look too different from the
straight factual news sources. All persuasive information sources use manipulative techniques.
information sources next to them. Propaganda is persuasion taken to the extreme. Its purpose
is to stop you from thinking critically so that you will accept the message. To do this,
it ignores or attacks alternate perspectives and it evokes strong emotions. In these two
World War II propaganda posters, the propaganda is trying to arouse hatred, outrage, and fear
so that the audience will enthusiastically support the war effort. Other kinds of propaganda
try to arouse loyalty, trust, gratitude, and other positive emotions. Propaganda is widely
considered unethical because it tries to short circuit the individual's critical thinking.
It is most harmful when it is outright deceptive, when it elicits hatred, or when it evokes
support for a corrupt authority. Cults and cult-like religions distribute propaganda
to their members and also use it to try to gain new converts. Ideological organizations
like political parties and special interest groups also use propaganda the same way. Governments
use propaganda to control the population. Totalitarian states like North Korea are blatant
and heavy-handed, while democratic governments have to use more delicate methods of persuasion.
Obviously, propaganda is not a good information source for any purpose at all. It's hard to
even fact-check propaganda, because they use so much double-speak. Advertising uses many
of the same techniques as propaganda, but instead of getting people to support a political
regime or a war, it's used to get people to buy goods and services. Advertisements often
use stories, humor, and imagery to get you to associate their product with the life you
wish you could have. That life could include a beautiful home and a happy baby, sexy women
admiring your brand new car, or being popular and influential among your peers. Basically,
if an information source is trying to sell you something, even subtly, you can't rely
on the information in it. Of course the Mr. Clean ad tells you that it's a strong cleanser
that will make your bathroom fresh, because the advertisers want you to go out and buy
some! It's more dangerous when it's an advertisement for a medication, and they tell you that it's
effective and has minimal side effects, or an advertisement for a pesticide and they
tell you that it's safe to let your children play in the yard after applying it. They want
you to buy the product, and they're not afraid to use double-speak to convince you. There
are regulations that try to prevent deceptive advertising, but the advertisers always have
ways around them. An information source that is trying to sell you something should not
be used for academic research. If you are researching a product or service for yourself,
you should fact-check all the information in other sources that don't have a vested
interest in getting you to give them your money. Sources that are intended strictly
to inform and/or educate are what you need for research. These include scholarly journals
and books, serious popular nonfiction books and magazines, and news sources, minus the
editorials. Good textbooks and reference books also fall into this category, but sometimes
you will find that what's supposed to be an educational resource is actually subtle - or
not so subtle - propaganda. Popular nonfiction books also often mix persuasive goals in with
the information, so you need to stay alert to the possibility that you're being manipulated
by what you're reading, watching, or listening to. The informational value of news from the
major newspapers and TV news stations is also a controversial topic, because they are funded
by advertisers, and as it turns out, sometimes they also take money from governments and
political parties. Many information sources actually have more than one purpose. You'll
often come across information sources that are meant to give you information and sell
you something. The common example is infomercials. It's right there in the name - information
plus commercial equals infomercial. Here on the screen is another example. It's a short
article from Real Simple Magazine about using gray paint in home decorating. It gives advice,
but it also guides you right to certain brands and where you can buy them. Combining information
and entertainment is also popular. Sometimes they even call it infotainment. News channels
and web sites often mix celebrity gossip and human interest stories in with the real news
to the point that it can be hard to tell the difference. Some of the more serious reality
shows like Hoarders: Buried Alive count as infotainment because they do give the viewer
some education on the topic, while also appealing to their morbid curiosity and desire for drama.
Most documentaries count as infotainment. Some of them, like Tony Robinson's Worst Jobs
In History are more on the side of information, but others are more on the side of entertainment.
If you do find information mixed in with a commercial or entertainment, you need to verify
it from a strictly informational source before you use it in your research. Then there are
the sneaky information sources that pretend to be informative but are actually something
else. For example, this fake documentary. And these examples of fake news. Here's an
ad for a fake book that's actually just a bigger ad for the product. As you may guess,
there is a lot of overlap between this topic of intended purpose and the topic of scholarly
versus popular sources. Scholarly sources are always supposed to be meant to inform
or educate in an unbiased way. The peer review process helps to screen out bias. The sections
on agenda, neutrality, and objectivity in Evaluating Sources 2 will give you more information.
There is one last thing I want to mention, and that is the exception to the rule. When
you're using an information source as a primary source, it doesn't matter if it has an audience
or purpose that's inappropriate for academic research. That's because primary sources,
flaws and all, are the objects of our research. You're not doing research with the primary
source; you're doing research on it. But your secondary sources - the sources of your facts
and understanding - need to be intended for an audience of experts and intended for the
purpose of informing and educating that audience. As always, if you have any questions about
this topic, or any other library or research related topic, go to http://www.esc.edu/askalibrarian.