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Here are some more examples of questions that are relatively simple to answer.
They can be answered in a few words
You don't need to explain any context for the answers to make sense
Most people agree on the answers
When answering these types of question, you don't need to do much (if any) investigating of information sources.
It doesn't require a lot of expertise to know how to answer them
MORE COMPLEX ANSWERS = more need to investigate expertise
Here are some questions that are a bit more complex.
It would take more than a few words to answer them
There might be more than one way to explain the answers, so you might need to make some choices about the best way
You probably need to provide some context so the answers make sense
When answering these types of questions, it's a good idea to do some investigating of information sources.
Some expertise is needed to answer them accurately
These examples are even more complex.
It would take quite a few words to explain the answers
You might need to synthesize information from several sources
You definitely need to provide some context for the answers to make sense
When answering these types of questions, you may run into trouble if you don't investigate the information sources.
Expertise is required in order to really know how to answer them
Find out more about expertise -->
MORE CONTROVERSIAL ANSWERS = more need to investigate expertise + reputation for fairness & accuracy
Here are some questions that are a bit more "controversial." That doesn't necessarily mean people have strong beliefs about them or they're politically polarizing. It just means it's harder to determine the accuracy of the answers.
There might not be any record of the answer, such as Sojourner Truth's birthdate
It might be hard to gather accurate data, such as the current population of a city that is rapidly growing
There might be more than one way of measuring something, such as sea levels
There might be disagreements about definitions of terms such as "breeds" or "fought"
A medium-controversial topic might be indirectly related to something that is politically polarizing, such as climate change. But that's not the main reason to investigate information sources when trying to answer questions like these.
When it's harder to gather accurate data or define terms, it's better to use information sources that have a good reputation for reporting fairly and accurately. They're more likely to acknowledge uncertainties and disagreements. Less reputable information sources might settle for an easy answer that misses some of the complexity. They may want to satisfy people's desire to push a button and get an answer. But some things just aren't known for sure!
These examples are even more "controversial."
Again, some of these answers just aren't known for sure, like what Sojourner Truth actually said in her speech
It's quite difficult to gather accurate data about where cats were first domesticated, when life forms appeared on Earth, or how many people died in the Holocaust
And defining "happiness" is definitely hard to agree on :)
But we're also getting into topics that people definitely have strong beliefs and feelings about: the Holocaust and the beginning of life on Earth.
When researching a topic that people have strong beliefs or feelings about, it's important to investigate information sources. Even though these questions are asking for factual answers, people may have strong perspectives through which they interpret factual information. There's a chance their perspectives may have been distorted by bias, which may have led them to misrepresent the truth. That's why it's important to check information sources' reputations for reporting fairly and accurately.
Find out more about perspectives and bias -->
Here's another set of examples: questions that are both MORE COMPLEX and MORE CONTROVERSIAL.
You know what you'd need to do about these :)
Think about complexity and controversy in terms of spectrums. There are questions that fall somewhere between these and the ones above when it comes to complexity or controversy.
Consider whether they're complex or controversial enough to warrant a more thorough investigation of information sources. (Or ask a teacher or librarian for advice!)
INTERPRETATION ANSWERS = need to investigate expertise + reputation for fairness & accuracy
Some of the questions above are more difficult to answer than others, but they're all looking for factual information. That is, answers that can be verified as true or false (although, again, some are easier to verify than others).
There's a different type of question, one that is looking for interpretations of information. These are questions that have more than one reasonable answer. To interpret = to add meaning to facts. One person might look at some facts and come up with one interpretation, while another person might add a different meaning. They would both need to explain the evidence they used and the reasoning behind their interpretation. But they're dealing with something we can't verify as true or false. There really is more than one way of looking at it.
Questions that require some interpretation also fall on a spectrum from less complex to more complex and on another spectrum from less controversial to more controversial.
These examples are LESS COMPLEX--though they're still more complex than most questions with factual answers.
These examples are also LESS CONTROVERSIAL.
There may be more than one interpretation, but there's not as much disagreement about how to interpret the evidence
It's easier to gather the facts that need to be interpreted
These questions that require interpretation are MORE CONTROVERSIAL.
It may be harder to gather the facts that need to be interpreted
There may be more disagreement about how to interpret the evidence
People may have stronger beliefs or feelings about the topics
These questions that have more than one reasonable answer are MORE COMPLEX.
It takes longer to explain the evidence and how it's been interpreted
Answers require more context, such as explaining the definitions of relevant terms
There are interpretation-type questions that are even more complex and controversial than these. Have fun with those!
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