Fact or Opinion

What is the difference between a fact and an opinion? In academic English, you could say this is a ‘grey area’. In other words, sometimes it is not clear if what is written is a fact or just what someone believes. If the author has included their research and findings with reference to data, then it could be argued that the text is factual. However, if there is no data or there is no empirical evidence to support their ideas, how does the reader know if the text is based on fact or just written in such a way as to make the reader understand it as fact.

Text that is written as fact often uses just the simple tense with no modification at all. However, if the author is suggesting, assuming or hypothesising then the language used will contain modifiers such as the modal verbs, could, may, might, would or phrases such as it seems, it is apparent, or it is likely/possible that. This is often referred to as Hedging. There are many ways to modify a text, some are more obvious than others as demonstrated in the following examples.

Example 1

The massive spread of digital misinformation has been identified as a major global risk and has been alleged to influence elections and threaten democracies. Communication, cognitive, social, and computer scientists are engaged in efforts to study the complex causes for the viral diffusion of misinformation online and to develop solutions, while search and social media platforms are beginning to deploy countermeasures. However, to date, these efforts have been mainly informed by anecdotal evidence rather than systematic data. Here we analyze 14 million messages spreading 400 thousand claims on Twitter during and following the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and election. We find evidence that social bots play a disproportionate role in spreading and repeating misinformation. Automated accounts are particularly active in amplifying misinformation in the very early spreading moments, before a claim goes viral. Bots target users with many followers through replies and mentions, and may disguise their geographic locations. Humans are vulnerable to this manipulation, retweeting bots who post misinformation. Successful sources of false and misleading claims are heavily supported by social bots. These results suggest that curbing social bots may be an effective strategy for mitigating the spread of online misinformation.

Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G.L., Varol, O., Flammini, A. and Menczer, F., 2017. The spread of misinformation by social bots. arXiv preprint arXiv:1707.07592

has been alleged to

The use of the word alleged is a lexical choice as it means there is no evidence, just speculation.

have been mainly informed by

The use of the adverb mainly modifies the meaning as there are other possibilities.

anecdotal evidence

The use of the word anecdotal means that it is based on what is said but without evidence.

may disguise

The use of the modal verb may indicates a possibility but the author isn’t sure or has no evidence.

suggest

The use of the verb suggest indicates that there is no clear evidence.

may be

The use of the modal verb may indicates lack of certainty.

If we look at the same text, the sentences in bold are written as fact. This is done by using the simple tense, either active or passive without any modification.

Adapted from Shao, C., Ciampaglia, G.L., Varol, O., Flammini, A. and Menczer, F., 2017. The spread of misinformation by social bots. arXiv preprint arXiv:1707.07592

When a writer wants you to believe what they say is fact, there are possible ways to check this either through the research they have cited or their own research based on quantitative analysis. It is also important to check the author's background. You need to consider the following points:

Are they a recognised academic?
Have they published other materials?
Has the work been peer reviewed?
Or in some cases, especially on websites is the text referenced at all? If you don't know who wrote the text then it is most likely not reliable and should not be used in your research.

The choice of reporting verb also gives an indication of the writer's belief in their own findings. Verbs such as suggest or indicate are not very strong and therefore the writer is not certain. However, verbs such as confirm or refute are much stronger and can lead the reader to believe that the statement is based on fact.

Example 2

The style of this second example is very different from the first but they are both academic texts. The use of the first person "I" was not acceptable in academic writing in the past but is now more common. However, you should always check with your department before making a decision of how to write in your discipline.

In this paper I advance a job-search model to explain the structural and personal barriers between career adaptability and refugee resettlement success. Building from career construction and social network theories, I argue that while career adaptability—or the ability of an individual to navigate career transitions—generally shares a strong positive relationship with objective markers of success (e.g., pay and job quality), this is not necessarily generalizable to refugees who likely experience downward occupational mobility. Specifically, I posit that as a method of adaptation, refugees prioritize the generation of networks for social safety over acquiring jobs that align with their skillset. Yet, doing so limits their objective resettlement success, characterized by lower status jobs than previous employment, low pay, and fewer opportunities for host country language ability growth. Career adaptive refugees are even more likely to focus on network generation due to discrimination threat and host country language ability upon arrival. Further, gender, education, and prior experience hinder a refugee's ability to obtain a job commensurate with experience and qualifications prior to migration. However, because being embedded in a network creates social resources such as support and social legitimacy, a refugee's newly created network acts as a key mechanism through which career adaptive refugees experience high physical and mental health, stronger social ties, and higher life satisfaction. Recommendations for testing these propositions and methodological considerations are discussed.

Campion, E.D., 2018. The career adaptive refugee: Exploring the structural and personal barriers to refugee resettlement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 105, pp.6-16.

I advance

I argue

generally

not necessarily generalizable

likely

I posit

even more likely

Recommendations for testing these propositions and methodological considerations……

The tone of this text is created by the use of the first person. The writer is using verbs such as proposing and argue which indicate that this is a discussion rather than an argument based on fact.

Practice

Now it's time to focus your activity on texts that you may need to read and understand for your own discipline. Nowadays academic papers from relevant, peer-reviewed, academic journals are the main resource for research for your assignments. You can use your institution's database which will give you access to a wealth of resources, or if you are not enrolled in an institution, you can use Google Scholar which will give you abstracts for numerous texts on all academic disciplines.

When you're reading, you need to Notice the language that is being used. For example, if the author is suggesting, assuming or hypothesising, then the language used will contain modifiers such as the modal verbs; could, may, might, would or phrases such as it seems, it is apparent, or it is likely/possible that. However, the use of simple tenses in either the active or passive voice, indicate that the writer is stating fact. You should also check the reliability of the text by answering the following questions about the author.

Are they a recognised academic?
Have they published other materials?
Has the work been peer reviewed?
Or is the author's name even mentioned?

Before using any published materials remember to do the CRAAP test.

Currency When was it written?

Relevance Is it relevant?

Authority Who is it written and published by?

Accuracy Is the information correct?

Purpose Why was the text written?

There are many versions of this available on the Internet.