Information Literacy

Summary of Bias


The author didn't leave out many facts, if any. Ms. Welsh did a fine job collecting ideals and opinions from both sides of the debate.
Personally, I would have liked to read more statistics about other schools in America, and across the Globe, that have armed teachers working on their campuses.
I don't feel that Ms. Welsh's article itself had words that created positive, or negative reactions. However, there is a comment section attatched to the article and in it are anonymous people who are posting furiously about their opinions. A few "fighting words" in the comment section are anything to do with bringing up mental health, the "extra cost" of gun training, and any person who has a mispelled comment in the section gets smited.
Ms. Welsh's article doesn't seem to have any bias in it at all, she articulated herself well and presented both sides of "armed teachers" very well.

Is there an author? Is the page signed?	Yes there is an author for this web article.  Teresa Welsh.
Is the author qualified and/or reputable? An expert?	Yes her credentials are listed, but she is only an intern at US News. This is an opinion based article.
Who is the sponsor?	Sponsored by US News. Yes there is an “about” link.
Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?	Yes, the sponsor is a reputable news source. Highly reputable
Are there links that take you outside of the site?	There are “related articles”, but they are all US News articles and do not take you to different websites.

Accuracy

Reliable and error-free information. Conformity to fact. Precision; exactness.

Questions to Ask	Clues to Look For
Is the information reliable and error-free?	Yes there are no grammatical errors, the information seems very reliable. No bias.
Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?	Teresa Welsh.
Where doubt exists, can the information be cross-checked with a reliable source?	Yes, she has links to her sources and to her in text citations. The people she quotes are also valid sources.

Objectivity

Judgment based on observable phenomena and uninfluenced by emotions or personal prejudices

Questions to Ask	Clues to Look For
Does the information show a minimum of bias?	Ron Paul posted a link to this site. (see "AUTHORITY")
Is the page designed to sway opinion?	The page is not designed to sway the opinion of the readers, but the article gives a clear, unbiased view point from both sides,  and then the writer leaves room in a comment section for opinions to be shared.
Is there any advertising on the page?	Yes there are a few outside advertisements to Target. The Canadian walmart!

Currency

Belonging to the present time, being in progress now: current negotiations, prevalent, especially at the present time.

Questions to Ask	Clues to Look For
Is the page dated?	The page is dated December 20th, 2012.
If so, when was the last update?	No updates listed.
How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?	They still work, they are current and related links.

Technical Strategies for Evaluating Web Sites

1.       Study the URL

The URL seems to be a legitimate and working URL. It is from a well-known news source and world news producing website.

3. Where are you on the web? 

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2012/12/20/should-teachers-be-armed

4. Does the page have overall integrity and reliability as a source?
Yes, I would say the webpage has a well meaning integrity and over all is very reliable on its topics.

5. Who owns the domain name?

US News