The SIFT method is an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether online content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from his materials with a CC BY 4.0 license.
Determining if resources are credible is challenging. Use the SIFT method to help you analyze information, especially news or other online media.
Before you use or share something your find online: STOP.
Before sharing, consider:
Who are the author and source publishing the information?
Are they considered experts in the area, and by whom?
The Standford Experiment
The next step is to Find Better Coverage or other sources that may or may not support the original claim.
The final step is to Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media to their Original Context.
When an article references a quote from an expert, or results of a research study, it is good practice to attempt to locate the original source of the information.
Click through the links to follow the claims to the original source of information.
Open up the original reporting sources listed in a bibliography. A reputable source will list its sources -- make sure the sources do not have a hidden agenda or bias with the same critical eye that you are using to evaluate the original article.
Remember, headlines, blog posts, or tweets may sensationalize facts to get more attention or clicks. Re-reporting Does the author of your article omit, misinterpret, or select certain facts to support biased claims.Make sure to read the claims in the original context in which they were presented.
When in doubt, contact an expert – like a librarian!
CQ Researcher, one of the library's most-used databases has a report on Misinformation in popular media at:
Justice, G. (2022, January 28). Misinformation and the media. CQ researcher, 32, 1-30. http://library.cqpress.com/
Document URL: https://tinyurl.com/2p8m9v6u
In the last 10 years, scholarly publishing has been plagued by explosive growth of bogus scientific journals, sometimes called "predatory journals."
Library databases have already screened out these predatory journals for you, but if you are looking for articles using Google, Google Scholar, or another web search engine, you need to add an extra step to your research. You need to make sure the article you are looking at comes from a genuine peer-reviewed journal.
There is a library database called Cabell's that lists predatory journals: Cabell's Predatory Reports. Go to this database and type in the name of the journal you found on the web. If you find the journal in this database, you should not use the article in your research.
Vanessa Otera, a patent attorney, created this graphic of reliable news outlets: