Critically Evaluating Online Information: SIFT for Information Evaluation

In this step, you will find out about the source as well as the author. For example, if an article is posted on a website, you will want to know what that website (the source) is all about. You will also want to know about the person who wrote that article (the author). To investigate the source, employ a strategy called Lateral Reading, a term coined by Sam Wineburg’s Stanford research team. 

Lateral reading is a strategy that you can use to compare several websites side by side at once. We’ve all been guilty of having a couple (ok more like 20 for some of us) web browser tabs open at once. Now, you can utilize multiple tabs to read laterally and compare information.

1. Open up a tab next to your original webpage.
2. Google the website, author’s, or organization’s name and read what other websites not affiliated with the original source has to say. This can give you insight into the source and their reputation on the web.
3. Look at a few sources to confirm (use more tabs to really maximize that lateral comparison).

Check out this video from CrashCourse all about lateral reading. 

Lateral reading works well for evaluating specific information within an article or website too, since you can look at multiple sources and compare. We’ll discuss this in more detail further along.

One reason why reading laterally is important, is because it helps us put an individual source, author, or claim in perspective among the larger body of information around that topic. In other words, we do not want to take any given source at face value. People, organizations, and websites that have underlying agendas or are less than straightforward with their purpose will not directly state this in their About Us section. We need to see how that source is stands up outside of itself. Lateral reading is one technique that can help us do that.

During your lateral reading, you will gain insight and information into the original source. You will use that insight to determine whether the original source has merit and is appropriate for your research purpose.  Here are specific elements that you can look for to help make that determination.

Authority of the source or individual author

What expertise, credentials, work experience, life experience, or other significant subject knowledge does this person or organization possess that qualifies them to provide credible information?

Bias of the source or the content of the information

Is there a known bias, political leaning, or social agenda related to the source? Lateral reading is especially helpful for uncovering bias since most sources will not openly detail this on their website.

Investigate the Source with Google

The next step in the SIFT process is to Find Better Coverage. This steps involve determining the credibility of a specific claim or piece of evidence from the source.  In your preliminary evaluation you may have determined that the author’s credibility is appropriate and that the source is representing a balanced point of view (or at least you are aware of the source’s stand if not completely balanced). Now you need to determine if individual claims or evidence are accurate and contextually appropriate. Lateral reading is still helpful with these steps. Here are specific elements to look for to do this:

Credibility of the content

Does the source provide citations or attribute information to a particular source or person? If so, follow that citation back to the original source to verify the claim. If not, Google the quote or claim to find more about it. In many cases you’ll come up with websites that are either discrediting or supporting the information as accurate.  Fact checking websites and hoax busting websites are also good sources to consult. Below are 3 fact checking websites.

• PolitiFact “…is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others
• factcheck.org “…is a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.”
• Snopes is...“The definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation."

You can use Google Fact Check Explorer to do your own fact checking as well.  

Website domain endings

Domain endings are part of the URL of a web address. Review the table to learn about common domain endings.

Date of information

This element is a small but significant detail when determining the accuracy of claims or information because, well, things change over time. If someone’s claim is using out of date information as evidence, their claim can be weakened if not completely deflated.

Use Google to Find Better Coverage

In the last step of the SIFT process, you will trace the claim or evidence back to the primary source (if possible). Primary, also meaning first, are sources where information originiated. Primary sources can be:

• Data from research studies or experiments (helpful for determining if claims using statistics are accurate).
• Government documents (also helpful for finding data, statistics, laws, legislation, etc).
• Quotes, tweets, or posts from famous people or politicians (helpful for verifying if that screenshot of someone's Twitter account is real or fabricated).
• Images (it is important to note that it is very easy for images online to be manipulated, photoshopped, or used out of context). 

Check out the video below to learn how to trace claims, quotes, and media to their original source.