SIFT Evaluation Tool

Use the technique of Lateral Reading to Validate Claims and Sources

(click on image to enlarge)

This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution license.

Step 1: Stop

Ask yourself whether you know and trust the author, publisher, publication, or website.

• If you don’t, use the other fact-checking moves that follow, to get a better sense of what you’re looking at.
• In other words, don’t read, share, or use the source in your research until you know what it is, and you can verify it is reliable.

Step 2: Investigate the Source

When investigating a source, fact-checkers read “laterally” across many websites, rather than digging deep (reading “vertically”) into the one source they are evaluating.

• Leave that source and see what others have said about the source.
• Piece together different bits of information from across the web to get a better picture of the source you’re investigating.

Step 3: If needed, find better or more appropriate coverage.

What if the source you find is low-quality, or you can’t determine if it is reliable or not?

• You want to know if it is true or false. You want to know if it represents a consensus viewpoint, or if it is the subject of much disagreement.
• Your best strategy in this case might actually be to find a better source altogether, to look for other coverage that includes trusted reporting or analysis on that same claim. 

Step 4: Track the source back to the original.

What if you feel uncertain about the "full story" of a fact or claim, or you suspect someone might want to mislead you (as when controversial issues are presented)?

• Trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source, so you can see it in its original context and get a sense of whether the version you saw was accurately presented.

Modified from Mike Caulfield's SIFT (Four Moves), which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Graphic created by Suzanne Sannwald based on Mike Caulfield's work on SIFT. Creative Commons Attribution License.

Cite your Sources

What is a Citation?

• A short description of the source for your information.
• Contains information on who wrote it, what it is (title), and where you found it (book or other resource title).
• Used to give credit to the sources you use in your writing.
• Provides information to help someone find the source.
• Annotated Bibliographies include a paragraph describing each article or book in the reference list.
• Usually uses either APA or MLA style.

Why Cite? 

When you present research, you participate in an informed conversation.

You cite your sources, in order to:

• Give credit to others for their ideas, data, and words.
• Demonstrate due diligence and give weight to your analysis.
• Leave a research path others can follow.

Citation Guide

Find much more on the Holman Library Citation guide: