Essay
Validity
- Module
- Crime scene to the courtroom
- Institution
- WJEC
It looks at a range of information sources and its validity.
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AC3.1 Examine information for validityIn this AC I will be examining information for validity. The information I will be examining is a
media report by The Sun, Sally Clark's case, The Hillsborough Disaster, Barry George’s
case and the Grenfell Tower inquiry.
Validity is when something is correct and reliable. If something measures what it is supposed
to measure then it is deemed valid. So in a criminal case you can do this by checking the
authority, intentions and viewpoints of the individuals presenting the evidence. If you look at
the data or evidence, you can see if it backs up a claim or judgement.
Media Reports & Bias
Bias is when you incline or prejudice towards one person or group's side and this is seen as
unfair. When assessing crime-related media reports, we must be aware of any prejudice in
the author, paper or owner that could influence the reports neutrality. Media reports play a
big role in public perception as it's a main source where people get their information from.
Therefore they should try to remain neutral and factual as it can influence how viewers and
readers view crime and social groups in society.
This is not always the case because authors, the paper and owners can have a certain
viewpoint and political position. Even though news reports should be unbiased and objective
in order to be credible, it can sometimes be subjective. The reporting is inaccurate and
invalid if it lacks objectivity.
A newspaper article written by The Sun is a good example of biased reporting. After the
Paris terror attacks, The Sun created a poll and then published an article based on it which
was titled ‘Nearly 1 in 5 British muslims has some sympathy with those who fled the UK to
fight for ISIS in Syria’. This recieved 3,000 complaints and went under investigation by The
Independent Press Standards Organisation. They discovered that when the poll about
‘sympathy’ took place, it did not mention ISIS. Previous questions in the telephone survey
had explicitly mentioned ISIS and according to the report, a vast majority of individuals who
leave the UK to join militants in Syria, do so to join ISIS.
It was also mentioned in its story that the survey showed “a clear majority of the 2.7m brits
who follow Islam are moderate” but when the newspaper published it, ISPO concluded that
the newspaper failed to take appropriate care in how it presented its poll results and its
coverage was misleading. This was a biased article and discriminated against muslims and it
could be because of a personal view of the author or paper owner.
Evidence & Opinion
An opinion is a judgement or view made about something that is not always based on facts
or knowledge. For example, in Sally Clark’s case, a statement of advice was given as
evidence by an expert specialist. An expert's opinion can affect the validity of the case, that if
it is given as evidence in a trial and the expert has a high status then it can influence the jury
which has a big impact on the verdict.
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