Evaluating Sources: Evaluation Frameworks

Applicable Disciplines:

IF I APPLY is widely applicable, but it is especially useful within the social sciences! If you are in the field of anthropology, sociology, criminal justice, social work, political science, gender studies, or any other related field, this is the evaluation framework for you!

Evaluation Criteria:

The Personal Steps:

I—Identify your emotions surrounding the topic

• What are your honest opinions regarding the topic?
• Have you addressed your internal biases?
• What identities are affected by this and should be represented?

F—Find unbiased reference sources that will provide an overview of the topic

• Conduct a general knowledge overview.
• Search for information in encyclopedias, wikis, dictionaries, etc.

I—Intellectual courage to find sources outside of your comfort zone or thesis

• Have the courage to find authoritative sources with different viewpoints on the topic.
• Have the courage to reject unsound arguments across viewpoints.
• Have the courage to accept credible arguments outside of your thesis.

The Source Steps:

A—Authority

• Who wrote/created the source?
• What makes the author an authority on the topic (degrees, credentials, profession, etc.)?
• Have they written anything else?
• Do they specialize in certain topics or fields?

P – Purpose/point of view of source

• Why was the information published?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the content relevant to your topic or information needs?
• Are diverse perspectives represented?

P – Publisher

• What type of publisher is it (scholarly, commercial, government, self, etc.)?
• What other types of work have they published (if any)?
• Is the information published in its original form or has it been revised?

L – List of sources

• Does the source have citations? What do they look like?
• Does the number of sources cited make sense with the length of the source?
• Do the types of sources cited make sense with the topic/content of the source?

Y – Year of publication

• When was this source originally published?
• How does the age of the source impact the information (if at all)?
• What is the currency of the cited information?
• Is the information routinely updated?

CC BY NC. Adapted by Jennifer Switzer from University of Wisconsin Libraries adapted from “If I APPLY Think-Questions for Each Step” by Kat Phillips, Eryn Roles, and Sabrina Thomas.

Applicable Disciplines:

SIFT and PICK are widely applicable, but they are especially useful within communication, business, marketing, economics, media studies, and similar disciplines.

Evaluation Criteria: SIFT

S—Stop

• Check your emotions before engaging
• Do you know and trust the author, publisher, publication, or website?
  • If not, use the following fact-checking strategies before reading, sharing, or using the source in your research

I—Investigate the Source

• Don’t focus on the source itself for now.
• Instead, read laterally
  • Learn about the source’s author, publisher, publication, website, etc. from other sources, such as Wikipedia

F—Find Better Coverage

• Focus on the information rather than getting attached to a particular source
• If you can’t determine whether a source is reliable, trade up for a higher-quality source
• Professional fact-checkers build a list of sources they know they can trust

T—Trace claims to the original context

• Identify whether the source is original or re-reporting
• Consider what context might be missing in re-reporting
• Go “upstream” to the original source
  • Was the version you saw accurate and complete?

CC BY 4.0. Adapted by Jennifer Switzer from "The SIFT Method" by Mike Caulfield.

Evaluation Criteria: PICK

P—Purpose/Genre/Type

• Determine the type of source (book, article, website, social media post, etc.)
  • Why and how it was created?
  • How it was reviewed before publication?
• Determine the genre of the source (factual reporting, opinion, ad, satire, etc.)
• Consider whether the type and genre are appropriate for your information needs

I—Information Relevance/Usefulness

• Consider how well the content of the source addresses your specific information needs
  • Is it directly related to your topic?
  • How does it help you explore a research interest or develop an argument?

C—Creation Date

• Determine when the source was first published or posted
  • Is the information in the source (including cited references) up-to-date?
• Consider whether newer sources are available that would add important information

K—Knowledge-Building

• Consider how this source relates to the body of knowledge on the topic
  • Does it echo other experts’ contributions? Does it challenge them in important ways?
    • Does this source contribute something new to the conversation?
• Consider what voices or perspectives are missing or excluded from the conversation
  • Does this source represent an important missing voice or perspective on the topic?
  • Are other sources available that better include those voices or perspectives?
• How does this source help you to build and share your own knowledge?

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Adapted by Jennifer Switzer from "Sift & Pick" by Ellen Carey.