When you look at a website, start your evaluation by asking three questions:
Who is the author of the text?
Who is the intended audience for the text?
What is the purpose of the text?
Author: When you read a text, try to find out as much about the author as you possibly can:
Who is the author?
What do you know about the author?
Are they trustworthy? Why?
What else have they written on the subject?
Audience: There are many different types of audiences. When you visit a website, it is important to know who the intended audience is. Identify the audience based on the following questions:
Who is the target audience?
What is the audience’s interest in the subject?
What does the audience know about the subject?
How would the audience feel about the subject?
Purpose: When viewing the website identify the specific purpose it serves. Websites are created for numerous purposes which change from situation to situation and audience to audience. A few examples of purposes for website are: educational, informative, persuasive, entertainment. Ask yourself these questions:
What is the creator’s purpose for this website?
What specific information does the website convey?
Is the website trying to convince you of something?
*Adapted from the University Writing Program Northern Arizona University
SIFT is a series of steps to take when evaluating the reliability of web sites and their claims. It is based on an approach used by professional fact-checkers, and was developed by Mike Caulfield from Washington State University.
Each letter in SIFT stands for one of the steps:
When you see a web site that you are considering using or sharing, stop and ask yourself:
Don't use the source until you have found out more about its content, its creator, and its publisher.
Watch the video below, which highlights the importance of verifying your sources, and then proceed to the next step (Investigate).
The quality of your research is determined by the sources you use. Investigate a source by leaving that web page and looking for information about the source elsewhere. Check several different places before deciding if the source is reliable.
Watch the short video [2:44] below to learn about some of the best ways to investigate a source. Proceed to the next step: Find Better Coverage.
Oftentimes the source of information you come across is not important, even if the claim itself is. What that means is, we can try and find the information we're looking at in other sources. This helps to both verify whether the information is true and to find a better, or more trusted, source of coverage.
"Trusted coverage" can mean:
These can be determined through various online tools, such as the Media Bias Chart or the resources located in the Fact Checking Websites box on the Fake News -- Checking Sources page.
As you work through SIFT more, you can build up a list of trusted sources that can become your "go-to," saving you even more time in searching.
Many times the information we encounter is stripped of its context, which can distort its meaning. It's important to trace claims, quotes, and media back to their original source so that you can understand the context and ensure the information is being presented accurately.
