Large amounts of information are available online. The challenge is sifting through this information to identify sources that are reliable and appropriate for your university assignments. Here are some important points to keep in mind:
1. Choosing valuable sources requires time and critical evaluation, so it's a good idea to give yourself time to find and select information for your assessments
2. Understanding how to evaluate both print and electronic information makes it easier to choose better sources that will improve your marks
3. Remember that academic assignments (e.g. essays, annotated bibliographies, presentations) will always require accurate, appropriate, and well documented sources of information - so choose your information sources carefully.
Take a look at the Resource Evaluation Tool for more tips and hints on evaluating the resources you find.
SIFT is a four-step method of evaluating information resources, and is particularly useful for evaluating online sources such as web pages and information shared on social media such as news media.
The SIFT method was created by digital literacy educator Mike Caufield. This resource has been adapted from information from his blog, Hapgood.
Stop:
Note:
Investigate the source before you read/view it:
Find better coverage:
Trace information to its original context:
Let's look at an example: | The website http://www.dhmo.org/ |
Stop | The website is not a well-known source for scientific information. It is poorly presented, the design and html looks outdated and it contains advertising and links to 'donate'. |
Investigate | But don't simply judge the site by appearance. Searching for Diydrogen Monoxide Research Division brings up a number of results that suggest that the source is a hoax website, so it does not have a good reputation. |
Find | You can use a fact-checking website such as snopes.com to verify information. You can also search the library catalogue, Library Search, to find reliable academic sources. |
Trace | No evidence is cited for the claims made on the website; close reading of the content provides many clues that the website is a hoax, including the statement: "content veracity not implied". Think carefully about what dihydrogen monoxide actually is. How would you write it as a chemical formula? What common substance essential for life on earth has the same formula? |
Verdict? | Multiple sources confirm that this website is a hoax; it is unsuitable to use in a university assignment as a scientific source (however it may be useful to make a point about the importance of information literacy in science education). |
TRAAP (Timeliness, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) is a five-step method of evaluating information sources.
Each letter stands for a different set of questions you need to ask yourself when deciding whether or not to use an information source in your assignment.
T stands for Timeliness:
R stands for Relevance:
A stands for Authority:
A stands for Accuracy:
P stands for Purpose:
Let's look at an example: | An article first published on The Conversation website, republished on the ABC News website: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-01/what-is-brown-noise-can-this-latest-tiktok-trend-really-help-you/101392278 |
Timeliness | Published in 2022 |
Relevance | For people studying insomnia, ticktock trends or the dissemination of healthcare information through social media this might be suitable - if websites are ok to use. |
Authority | The authors have academic credentials from Australian universities. |
Accuracy | No noticable errors; all links work; sources appear to be quoted correctly. |
Purpose | Labelled as 'Analysis' but uses information from other sources. |
Verdict? | May be suitable to use if you can't find a book or journal article on the same topic. |
For more help with evaluating information resources: