Page 203 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

170 Part 3 Putting Theory Into Practice

on Properties in Internet Explorer, you may be able to determine the creation
and modifi cation date of a Web page.) If you cannot determine the currency of
information, it probably should not be used in your speech.

Relevance Sometimes information is interesting but not really helpful in
achieving your specifi c speech purpose. What the Berlin Wall was made of may
be interesting, but it may not be relevant to a speech on the economic policies
that most contributed to the collapse of East Germany. As we discuss how to
conduct searches for information, we will give you some tools for narrowing
things down to what is directly relevant to your purpose.

Authority This is probably one of the most important things to look for in
doing your research. Ultimately, you need to convince your audience that they
should trust the source of information. One of the most common complaints we
get from students is that they don’t know how to cite sources with an unknown
author. In many cases, our response is: “Why should we believe anything from
an unknown author?” Instead, fi nd out who said it or at least what group or
organization is represented. Only then can you decide if it’s worth including in
the speech.

Accuracy Even authoritative sources sometimes get it wrong. There’s no sure-
fi re way to guarantee that information is accurate. Still, using sources that have
a reputation for being reliable and truthful helps. Also helpful are different au-
thoritative sources that offer different evidence in support of the same conclu-
sion; for example, a biochemist and a psychologist saying that there is chemical
and behavioral evidence supporting the diagnosis of depression. If you can cite
evidence from two sources (e.g., Rush Limbaugh and Al Franken) who custom-
arily are authorities for diametrically opposed audiences but agree on what you
claim, then you may convince your greatest skeptic in your audience of the ac-
curacy of your message.

Purpose Finally, a good researcher keeps in mind the stated and implied pur-
pose of the source of information. Particularly on controversial topics, a source
who has an axe to grind may be suspect. Since we’ve recently learned that the
heads of governmental agencies have paid supposedly “objective” media sources
to tout certain policies, we must be doubly on guard in this respect.
For a more detailed discussion of these tests of research, see Tips and Tactics,
Evaluating Sources Using the CRAAP Test.

Tips and Tactics
Evaluating Sources Using the CRAAP Test

Currency
• When was the information published or posted? Has the information been
revised or updated? Newspapers, books, periodicals, and many Web sites will
provide this information. If it’s not readily available, look for internal clues.
For example, a Web site that speculates about whether Saddam Hussein will
be captured, tried, and executed is clearly out of date.
• Is the information current or out of date for your topic? If you are speaking