Be a Research Skeptic
A Crash Course in Source Evaluation
SIFT - A Source Evaluation Methodology
SIFT is a source evaluation methodology created by Mike Caulfield, a misinformation researcher. SIFT emphasizes looking at our own biases and contextualizing sources to determine if they are suitable for our needs.
SIFT is an acronym. Each of the letters should help you remember one of the SIFT steps.
- S Stop and reflect
- I Investigate the Source
- F Find Supporting Evidence
- T Trace Claims
When you encounter a source, you can use a combination of these steps to help you determine if it is suitable for your project. It's a good idea to always stop and reflect, but the more you SIFT, the more you'll get a sense for which steps to use to evaluate a source. Click next below to learn more about each of the SIFT steps.