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Research Essentials

This guide covers the fundamentals of college research: identifying source types, finding sources using library resources, and evaluating the credibility of sources.

Evaluating Sources with SIFT

Now that you’ve found a source, how do you know whether to believe what it’s telling you? No source is inherently perfect, but some are more credible than others. The credibility of a source depends in part on the author (Do they know anything about this subject?), the method used to produce the information (Do they cite sources or justify their claims?), and the mechanisms in place for catching mistakes (Was it peer-reviewed? Is there a comments section?).

One method for investigating the credibility of a source is to use the steps of SIFT:

Stop, the first move of swift
Description: Take a moment to think before engaging with or re-sharing a source.
Example: You see a video clip on social media of a celebrity saying "Squirrels are terrible animals." Your first instinct is to immediately re-share the video with a comment about how that's a horrible thing to say, but instead you pause for a moment to reflect. You care enough about this issue to want to know the truth.
investigate the source
Description: Figure out who wrote or published the source (and their expertise and agenda) to decide if it’s worth your time
Example: The user who posted the video is not one you recognize. You visit their account, and see that they post a lot about celebrity gossip. They don’t appear to have any specific interest in squirrels, which makes you question their motivation for posting the video.
Find better coverage
Description:If you’re interested in the claims a source makes (whether they are true or false, whether they are disputed), look for other sources that cover the same topic to see if they agree or disagree
Example: You open a new browser tab and Google the name of the celebrity and “squirrel.” You skim multiple sources, and find people disagreeing about whether this celebrity hates squirrels or not.
trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context
Description:If you’re looking at a source that cites something else, figure out if that other source actually says what they say it does. If you’re looking at a video or photo, find the original source of that video or photo
Example: You find a YouTube video that appears to be the source of the clip you originally saw. It’s an interview with a reputable publication, so you don’t doubt the authenticity of the video. By watching the whole thing, you can see that the celebrity actually said “Some people think squirrels are terrible animals, but I think they're great,” and the first clip you saw took part of the sentence out of context. You decide not to re-share the original post.