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Organizations that promote a cause or take a side on an issue are usually non-profit organizations. But that doesn't mean every non-profit organization takes sides.
For example, a museum might post a statement about an issue, but convincing people to agree with them is not their main purpose.
Their main purpose is to get people to support the museum itself.
Clues that an organization is a non-profit are links that say "Support" or "Give" or "Donate"
But sometimes it's less obvious what a non-profit organization's main purpose is. That's what investigations are for!
This is the website of a non-profit organization that does take a side on the issue of climate change. One of the clues is:
Saying "we need to" do something
It might seem that any organization like this would not be a good information source for a school research assignment: after all, they have a strong perspective, which might have been distorted by bias, leading them to misrepresent the truth.
You could avoid organizations like these--or you could do some investigating to find out what their reputation is for reporting fairly and accurately.
Find out more about perspectives and bias -->
One thing to investigate is: Who are the people involved in this organization? What makes them experts on the topic of your research?
In this case:
The people involved in the organization include professional scientists who teach at major universities and have won Nobel prizes
Another thing to investigate is: Where do they get their funding? Some additional investigation shows:
This organization does not receive funding from any businesses that might lead it to misrepresent the truth in their favor
In addition:
The Wikipedia article doesn't provide any evidence that this organization has been criticized for misrepresenting the truth
Find out more about what makes someone an expert on a topic -->
Organizations known as "research institutions" do more than promote a particular cause. They use their funding to do studies and increase knowledge about the topic.
Some of these research institutions use their research to make recommendations about what should be done. That means they don't try to stay neutral--instead, they try to persuade. These are called "think tanks."
Think tanks can be investigated just like any other non-profit organization:
Who is involved? What makes them experts on the topic of your research?
Where do they get their funding?
What is their reputation for representing the truth fairly and accurately?
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
This non-profit organization has also taken a side on the issue of climate change. That doesn't automatically rule them out as an information source for a school research assignment. But it does mean further investigation is needed.
It is not a great sign that:
There are no clues on the website itself about the people involved in this organization
It also turns out the organization "Environmental Progress" doesn't have its own Wikipedia page. A search leads to the Wikipedia page of the individual person who founded the organization. The investigation now becomes about this individual and our first question is: How much of an expert is he on the topic of climate change?
There's no evidence that Michael Shellenberger has a background as a scientist. So let's focus on his reputation for reporting the truth fairly and accurately.
The article tells us that he has received both praise and criticism. This will sometimes be the case: there's disagreement about whether or not an individual or organization misrepresents the truth. But when you're doing a school research assignment, you want to know for sure that you're getting reliable information. So:
Even though some people trust this person, the fact that many people don't trust him means he is NOT a good information source for your assignment
Return to the "Organizations' purposes" page -->
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