Evaluating Information
This guide introduces a few key resources about evaluating information online.
Introduction to Evaluating Information Online
Evaluating information, especially online, is a process that requires critical thinking skills. This introductory research guide will refer you to good starting places for learning evaluation strategies and skills.
Within your specific research fields, there are other frameworks for critically appraising research study designs and information. For example, our Evidence-Based Practice guide's Appraise page presents several books, tools, checklists, etc. for reading and evaluating biomedical and health literature. Please contact your librarian to learn more about frameworks within your research or disciplinary field.
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Lateral Reading with SIFT, Vertical Reading with PICK (PDF)This PDF handout covers what each letter of SIFT and PICK mean and questions to ask yourself. SIFT and PICK is an acronym for reading laterally (open another browser tab!) to verify the source is worthy of your time, before reading vertically to evaluate the source itself. Lateral reading is based on research pioneered by Mike Caulfield, Sam Wineburg, and Sarah McGrew.
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Verified: how to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online
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Call Number: Open Reserve and General Collections: ZA4235 .C38 2023ISBN: 9780226829838Publication Date: 2023An indispensable guide for telling fact from fiction on the internet--often in less than 30 seconds. The internet brings information to our fingertips almost instantly. The result is that we often jump to thinking too fast, without taking a few moments to verify the source before engaging with a claim or viral piece of media. Information literacy expert Mike Caulfield and educational researcher Sam Wineburg are here to enable us to take a moment for due diligence with this informative, approachable guide to the internet. With this illustrated tool kit, you will learn to identify red flags, get quick context, and make better use of common websites like Google and Wikipedia that can help and hinder in equal measure. This how-to guide will teach you how to use the web to verify the web, quickly and efficiently, including how to *Verify news stories and other events in as little as thirty seconds (seriously) *Determine if the article you're citing is by a reputable scholar or a quack *Detect the slippery tactics scammers use to make their sites look credible *Decide in a minute if that shocking video is truly shocking *Deduce who's behind a site--even when its ownership is cleverly disguised *Uncover if that feature story is actually a piece planted by a foreign government *Use Wikipedia wisely to gain a foothold on new topics and leads for digging deeper. Building on techniques like SIFT and lateral reading, Verified will help students and anyone else looking to get a handle on the internet's endless flood of information through quick, practical, and accessible steps.
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Mis- and dis- information (Video Recording)Librarian Rebekah Cumming's "misinformation lecture looking at the increase of misinformation, different types of misinformation, and tools for becoming critical consumers of online information including lateral reading, fact checking, reflecting on your own bias, slowing down your belief formation, and using commonsense."
Fact Checking Websites
Professional fact checkers have already verified news and claims. Listed below are a few fact checking websites.
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Global Fact-Checking SitesCreated by the Reporters’ Lab at Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy, this database of global fact-checking sites allows you to locate sites around the world using a map or a list arranged by continent.
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FactCheck.orgA nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics.
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PolitiFactA non-partisan fact-checking website that researches specific statements made by United States politicians and rates them for accuracy.
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SnopesConducts fact-checking and investigative reporting on viral rumors, folklore, satire, political topics, and more. Links to the evidence on which conclusions are based.
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Better News Fact CheckingProvides expert fact checking advice and tutorials, from the American Press Institute’s Accountability Journalism and Fact-Checking Project, which aims to increase and improve fact-checking and other accountability journalism practices.
