Skip to Main Content
Ekstrom Library

POLS 649: Seminar in Comparative Politics (Abbott): Discussion Articles

Discussion Questions

Skim through the Washington Post article and read the abstract of the article from International Security

Consider the following questions we will discuss as a class while you read: 

  • What questions would you ask to critique each of these articles? Consider what you look for when you evaluate any given source. 
    • Are there any questions you would ask differently compared to a news source versus a journal article? 
    • What are your red flags when you evaluate a source?

  • How would you go about evaluating the evidence in the news article? 

  • How would you go about identifying bias in each of these sources? What’s the difference in evaluating bias in a journal article and a news article?  

  • What’s the level of authority or credibility of each source? That is, how do you know whether this journal and this newspaper source are good? 

  • Take a look at the following infographic: http://imgur.com/gallery/iPLkz
    • What do you think about this infographic? Does this resonate with your worldview of news? Why or why not? 
    • What are the implications for scholarly research if this diagram is true?