CCOW Source Analysis

The last facet we will examine is the worldview of the author. We all have beliefs and experiences that can affect how we interpret the world, including the authors we read in school. Exploring a variety of viewpoints and attitudes on a given topic can give us a fuller appreciation for the many facets of a topic.

Ask yourself:

• Does the author work for a lobbying or advocacy group? How has that influenced the piece?
• What do we know about the author's background and life experience and how might that affect their work?
• How do your own beliefs and experiences influence how you have read and analyzed the work?
• Are there viewpoints missing from the conversation? 

Behind every piece of information is a person, and deep within every person is their worldview. Remembering this can be helpful when we evaluate information, because it can help us to understand where the source is coming from. Instead of dismissing sources that disagree with us out of hand, we can ask ourselves, "Why do they see things that way?" It doesn't necessarily mean they are bad, or dishonest, or deluded. It may just mean they are looking at the information through a different lens.

Understanding this can help us to have a conversation, a discussion, rather than a personal argument. It can help us to treat people we disagree with as people, rather than as automatically evil representatives of the wrong point of view.

Just like people, most publications have a worldview. The New York Times, for instance, has a worldview that skews left. What topics they choose to cover, and what the words and phrases they use, reflect the way they see the world, and what issues matter to them. Ditto the Wall Street Journal, which skews right. Instead of shouting "Bias! Bias!" it's more helpful to simply recognize the worldview and be conscious of it as you read the source. That lets you to hold yourself apart and allow the source to be in conversation with you and your own worldview.

Of course, some sources really are flat-out biased, and not worth holding a conversation with. Just try not to leap to that conclusion just because they disagree with you.