Distinguishing between a good, neutral source and a biased source is very difficult. This is why it is so important to use scholarly, peer-reviewed articles to back up your research (and even those can be biased!) For your threaded discussion this week, I would like you to choose a random topic and then, through your research, find and post three different articles on your topic that represent the following:
Extremely biased article (non-scholarly source)
Extremely biased article on the other side (scholarly article or reputably website)
“Goldilocks” article (scholarly article or reputable website that equally represents both sides of the argument)
Under each article give a brief (4-5 sentence) explanation of the article and describe which article it is, how it is biased, and whether or not it would be a good source for an academic paper
Reply to at one student’ posts 50-75 words
TD3: Video Games
Student (Jacob) 11/23/2015 5:17:11 PM
The topic I chose to research was video games and how they can affect their players.
Article 1: Violent Video Games and Bad Behavior: The Evidence Mounts
http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/violent-video-games-bad-behavior-evidence-mounts-74372
This article states that “violent” video games have been shown to cause aggression in those that play them. The article quotes findings from an Italian study. This article is clearly biased against video games. I chose this article as my “non-scholarly” source, because the article itself is not a viable scholarly source, as it was published in a magazine that is not strictly a scientific publication.
Article 2: Cognitive Benefits of Playing Video Games
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn/201502/cognitive-benefits-playing-video-games
This article states that playing video games can have many positive effects on their players. The article is biased for video games. My reasoning for this is that it does not list any negatives, only talking in positive terms. I chose this as the article to represent a “biased scholarly article” on the other side of the debate. It is published in a scientific publication.
Article 3: Fact or Fiction?: Video Games Are the Future of Education
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-video-games-are-the-future-of-education/
This article discusses schools using video games as a teaching aid. This article does include both positives and negatives. That is why I chose this article to represent my “Goldilocks” article. It is not biased either way, it does discuss both sides, and it is published in a scientific publication.