SIFT is a quick strategy for evaluating online content, developed by Mike Caulfield.
SIFT stands for:
STOP
INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE
FIND BETTER COVERAGE
TRACE CLAIMS, QUOTES, AND MEDIA BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT
Questions to ask yourself:
Sometimes, after you investigate the source, you'll find that the source is sufficient for your needs. However, this is not always the case. Maybe the quality of the source is low or it doesn't adequately answer the questions you have.
This is when you would find better coverage. If you can't determine the reliability of the source and you want to get an accurate story on the subject or claim, your best strategy is to start searching elsewhere.
Sometimes, after you investigate the source, you'll find that the source is sufficient for your needs. However, this is not always the case. Maybe the quality of the source is low or it doesn’t adequately answer the questions you have.
This is when you would find better coverage. If you can’t determine the reliability of the source and you want to get an accurate story on the subject or claim, your best strategy is to start searching elsewhere.
A lot of things you encounter online have been stripped of context. This could be due to inaccurate or misleading re-reporting, edited sound and video, images being shared with inaccurate captions, etc.
In some cases, stories or claims can get better as they pass through intermediaries. However, in most cases the more a story circulates, the more it becomes warped and you’re presented with a radically wrong version of an event or piece of research. This is when you investigate further and start tracing back to the original source for full context.
Note: This SIFT method guide was adapted from Michael Caulfield's "Check, Please!" course and from the Wayne State University LibGuides summary. The canonical version of this course exists at http://lessons.checkplease.cc. The text and media of this site, where possible, is released into the CC-BY, and free for reuse and revision. We ask people copying this course to leave this note intact, so that students and teachers can find their way back to the original (periodically updated) version if necessary. We also ask librarians and reporters to consider linking to the canonical version.
As the authors of the original version have not reviewed any other copy's modifications, the text of any site not arrived at through the above link should not be sourced to the original authors.
Read the lit review excerpt in your group’s doc.
Then respond to these questions in the doc: