TABLE 3.7 TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SOURCES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE PAST BY EDUCATION -- AFRICAN AMERICAN SAMPLE
 

We asked our respondents for the following information about seven "places where people might get information about the past:" "Please tell (us) how trustworthy you think each is as a source of information about the past using a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 means not at all trustworthy and 10 means very trustworthy." The table below divides the African American Sample into four education groups, and reports the mean score those four groups gave each of the seven sources of information about the past listed in the far-left column. The numbers in parentheses indicate the number of respondents of the given education group who answered the question.
 

How trustworthy do you think ___ are as a source of information about the past?

EDUCATION
Total sample
No high school diploma
High school diploma
Some college
4 year degree and up
Significance Test

Museums

8.1 (283)
8.2 (50)
8.1 (72)
7.9 (96)
8.3 (65)
NS

Personal accounts from your grandparents or other relatives

8.4 (289)
8.3 (52)
8.5 (79)
8.3 (94)
8.5 (64)
NS

Conversation with someone who was there

7.9 (290)
8.6 (53)
7.6 (78)
7.8 (96)
7.9 (63)
NS

College history professor

7.0 (261)
7.6 (43)
6.9 (64)
6.9 (91)
6.7 (63)
NS

High school history teachers

6.2 (293)
6.5 (53)
6.5 (80)
6.0 (96)
5.9 (64)
NS

Non-fiction books

5.6 (278)
5.0 (44)
5.2 (76)
6.4 (95)
5.4 (63)
.01

Movies or television programs about the past

5.2 (291)
4.6 (51)
5.5 (80)
5.6 (96)
4.7 (64)
.03

 

 

 

 

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