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Resource Evaluation: Websites & News Media

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SIFT is an acronym that helps you to remember the steps of resource evaluation.  SIFT reminds you what you need to know before reading beyond the heading of a news article or website page.

We learn about the author, speaker, or publisher: What’s their expertise? Their agenda? Their record of fairness or accuracy?

We check on claims: Are they broadly accepted? Rejected? Something in-between?

We don’t take evidence at face value. Is it presented in its original context, or with a certain frame that changes its meaning for the reader or viewer?

Watch the videos in the accordion below to show you how to use the SIFT method to evaluate websites and news media.

Do I know or trust the source of this information? In this case it is a news media website. Do not read or share until you do. It can be easy to get overwhelmed during fact-checking. If you feel yourself getting overwhelmed in your fact-checking efforts, STOP and take a second to remind yourself what your goal is and what you need to know about the source. Adjust your strategy if it is not working and consider using another search term or a different website. Make sure you approach the problem at the right amount of depth for your purpose. Is the information to be used for an assignment or for interest?

 

 
Knowing the expertise and agenda of the source is crucial to your interpretation of what they say. Taking sixty seconds to figure out where it is from before reading will help you decide if it is worth your time, and if it is, help you to better understand its significance and trustworthiness. This can be done using some simple internet searches such as finding an independent site, for example a Wikipedia page about the source and the authors and checking that the authors actually work for the organisation they claim to. Leave the original article open and click to open new tabs to find out more about the author/s and organisation publishing the content. Look for independently published webpages on the author/s and organisation such as Wikipedia.
Sometimes you do not care about how the particular news article reaches you. You care about the claim/s the news article is making, and you want to know if it is true or false. You want to know if it represents a consensus viewpoint, or if it is the subject of much disagreement. In these cases, we encourage you to find trusted coverage that better suits your needs - more trusted, more in-depth, or maybe just more varied and covers the various aspects of the issue. There are a number of options available here and it may depend on the type of issue being investigated. If it has a current affairs aspect or something that has just arisen, then searching the internet may produce other articles or videos on the topic. These articles also need to be checked to validate their content. If the issue is a new angle on something that has been researched previously, then searching the library databases or other specialised resources should also be considered.

Subject Resource Guides

It is important to trace the claim/s, quote/s, or media back to the source, so you can see it in its original context and get a sense if the version you saw presented the information accurately. If the source does not provide any names, organisations or other points to check then it may not be the best option to use or share. An internet search of claims and facts may provide greater context for the facts used. It is recommended to check a few and see if they have been used accurately. If the item is reporting on a research article, consider searching the library databases for the original source. Also, consider checking any images or footage used in the new article as they may not match with the story itself. Images are important in telling the story outlined in the source and often attract attention. How to do a reverse image search can be found in the useful resources tab. After checking this source, the information is creditable and could be considered for use in an assignment.

Article reproduced with permission.

Collins, C. (2021). What should you eat after you've been on antibiotics?  and can probiotics and prebiotics get your gut back to normal? The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-should-you-eat-after-youve-been-on-antibiotics-and-can-probiotics-and-prebiotics-get-your-gut-back-to-normal-163363

Downloadable Resource

Useful Resources

Article reproduced with permission.

Stone, C. (2021). Local, face-to-face support offers a lifeline for uni students in regional and remote Australia. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/local-face-to-face-support-offers-a-lifeline-for-uni-students-in-regional-and-remote-australia-167439 

 

What is.....?

Article reproduced with permission.

Kisi, E. & Post, A. (2020). Aussie invention could save old coal stations by running them on zero-emissions ‘Lego’ blocks. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/aussie-invention-could-save-old-coal-stations-by-running-them-on-zero-emissions-lego-blocks-144864 

 

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