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Evaluating Information

Learn how to evaluate information for credibility, accuracy, and relevance in your academic and everyday research.

This page provides insight on how to vet sources to ensure you are using accurate, relevant, and truthful information in your research. Learn how to spot fake information and learn how to use the S.I.F.T and C.R.A.A.P methods to evaluate your sources.

Use the S.I.F.T method to start evaluating your sources. What is S.I.F.T?

  • STOP: Take the time to check your source and yourself. Ask yourself, are your familiar with the source? What kind of biases does this source have? Is this source relevant?
  • INVESTIGATE: It's important to know who is behind the resources you are referencing. Is the author a credible source or a subject matter expert on  the topic you are researching. These questions will help you look further into whether a source is providing real or fake information. Look for more than one site to double-check a sources credibility. Most importantly, thoughtfully read the information that a source is putting out. 
  • FIND: Read more than one viewpoint on a subject. Look for trusted sources and beware of their natural biases as a reporting source. Look for reliable information that can be backed up by authentic facts. Ask yourself, is this a trusted news source or just a personal opinion of a random bystander? 
  • TRACE: Trace your information back to it's original source. Many times information can be share in multiple ways that it then becomes misinformation. Misinformation is false information that has been spread but, it may not have been intended to mislead audiences. This happens very often and can be used in our own research if we are not careful to trace a source back to it's origins.

With resources like Google at our fingertips, information isn't hard to find. What is challenging is determining whether that information is credible and can be trusted. Is it factual? Biased? Relevant to your topic?

A Google search is often our first stop to gain a basic understanding of the main ideas about a topic, but since anyone with access to a computer can publish anything online, it is crucial that you evaluate the information you find, especially when completing a research paper, or looking for important information (like health or financial information).

Web sources can be particularly hard to evaluate, so here is a handy acronym to help you determine if a source may be CRAP.

  • CURRENCY:  How recently was this information published/posted? Can you find a publication date?
  • RELIABILITY:  Is the information supported by evidence? Can it be confirmed by other sources?
  • AUTHORITY:  Who wrote the information - are they an expert or knowledgeable in their field? (i.e. For health information, did a doctor or nurse write it? For science information, did a scientist or researcher write it?)
  • PURPOSE / POINT OF VIEW:  Why was it
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