Pseudo-profound bullshit pertains to grammatically and syntactically correct but meaningless sentences, that, due to syntactical correctness appear as made to communicate something and research shows that people deem them profound. However, the effect of differing source credibility on bullshit profoundness evaluations has, to our knowledge, not…

The authors examined adolescents' detection of features that affect the quality of web information. In experiment 1, participants (12-16 years old) rated the goodness/usefulness of four web-like documents for a simulated study assignment. Each document came with an issue that potentially undermined its quality. Two documents had source-related…

In-service and preservice teachers are increasingly required to integrate research results into their classroom practice. However, due to their limited methodological background knowledge, they often cannot evaluate scientific evidence firsthand and instead must trust the sources on which they rely. In two experimental studies, we investigated the…

Prior research suggests that high school students often struggle to evaluate online content; however, with support, they can learn to conduct more effective digital evaluations. This study extends our understanding of how students attend to the source of online information and the role instruction may play in changing students' evaluation of…

Introduction: This paper aims to determine how appropriate information literacy instruction is for preparing students for these unmediated searches using commercial search engines and the Web. Method. A survey was designed using the 2000 Association of College and Research Libraries literacy competency standards for higher education. Survey…

Gaps between what scientists and laypeople find plausible may act as a barrier to learning complex and/or controversial socioscientific concepts. For example, individuals may consider scientific explanations that human activities are causing current climate change as implausible. This plausibility judgment may be due-in part-to individuals'…

Drawing on experiences in his social studies classroom, Houman Harouni evaluates both the challenges and possibilities of helping high school students develop critical research skills. The author describes how he used Wikipedia to design classroom activities that address issues of authorship, neutrality, and reliability in information gathering.…