Lamson Library: Research Starter: Evaluating Information

Evaluating Information

Evaluating information is a complex process that happens at a number of different levels and to different levels of certainty. Your need to be sure about the information you've gathered increases more based on how serious your information need is. There are a number of methods you can use to attempt to evaluate a resource. If you have done what you're capable of and still aren't sure, it is always an option to ask a librarian or your professor to take a look at the source you are stuck on.

CRAAP and SIFT

CRAAP and SIFT are two examples of checklists used to assess the quality of information. Some people prefer one over the other, and some people prefer different lists altogether. Personally, I've found that they work best together. CRAAP gives the criteria you are looking for, while SIFT gives you the steps to use while you are looking. Ultimately, any and all checklists like this should be used as a base to build the skill of lateral reading.

Lateral reading basically means reading more than one source at once. If you come across a claim in the source you are reading, you stop and look into that claim by verifying it through other sources. This can look like following links within the original article. It can also look like opening a new tab and starting a new search.

Wikipedia

When you're opening up a new tab to check up on a source, Wikipedia can be a great place to go. With popular sources, it can help to put in the name of the source or the name of the journalist who wrote the story. With academic sources, you can use Wikipedia to get a basic primer on the subject. Wikipedia is often a good research starter, but it's rarely a good research finisher. To assess the quality of a Wikipedia article, it is useful to check on how thoroughly cited it is.

Lamson Library Fact Checking Websites Guide

Another good tip when you're doing research is to look up your topic LibGuide. Much like with our general collection, the librarians here at Lamson would love to have all the information in the world curated for you, but that's just not a realistic expectation for us. Luckily, we are only a small part of a much larger network of librarians! Whatever topic you are trying to learn about, it's likely some librarian out there has curated some research to get you started. In this case, we've curated some information about websites to help you check the quality of the information you are finding.

Lamson Library Fact Checking Websites Guide
It can be difficult sometimes to know what information to trust. This guide provides a number of fact checking websites that can help determine the reliability of an information source.