Constructivism is a concept that describes humans construct knowledge through their intelligence, experiences and interactions with the world. According to this concept, reality is a human construct; thus, reality is always subjective. Pediaa
Our apprehension of reality is always subjective, in that what we perceive and pay attention to is guided by our desires, goals, expectations, and preconceived notions. But humans would not have survived without an ability to track the world outside their heads, the world as it is, aka the objective reality.
(The Bayesian dance, in pursuit of satisfaction: simulate-calculate…act-track…update. Repeat.)
Evidence is information that serves to support or counter a proposition about reality. If objective reality exists, then we can get closer to its truth through the gathering and evaluation of evidence.
Evaluating evidence is a kind of interrogation. For example, one could “interrogate” opinion pieces, news analyses, and science stories with questions like:
Is the evidence provided consistent with well-established and verifiable facts?
Have you found similar information elsewhere, ideally provided by trusted sources, such as non-partisan research organizations or in published peer-reviewed publications?
Does the article provide links to original sources of evidence, such as studies, surveys and data repositories?
Does the author or website provide contact information?
If an online piece, did the website have an informative “About Us” link?
Does the evidence appear biased, leaving out contrary research findings or alternative explanations for the same data?
Does the article appear to have a political, social or commercial agenda?
Is the evidence sufficient to warrant claims being made?
What is the tone of language used (e.g., angry, sarcastic, dismissive, balanced)?
Is there a list of references for works cited?
Are the bibliographic references and links accurate, current, credible and relevant?
If we made such questioning a habit, the better we’d get at glimpsing bits of the world as it is, rather than how we want or expect it to be.
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Reference:
Todd Litman Evaluating Research Quality: Guidelines for Scholarship October 4, 2019; Victoria Transport Policy Institute