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Research Success for High School Students

Step Six

EVALUATE WHAT YOU FIND

ASU librarians and your professors want to ensure that you find sources that not only meet your assignment requirements, but that are appropriate for your research. There are a variety of checklists or methods available to evaluate the reliability and credibility of information sources. You can use CRAAP, SIFT, ACT UP, and other frameworks to evaluate the quality of the books, articles, online sources, and other media that you locate.

Remember, if you’ve found too many or too few sources, you may need to narrow or broaden your topic. You can always use Ask a Librarian to get help on this adjustment and other research needs.

Evaluation Frameworks

The CRAAP test, developed by librarians at CSU Chico, can help you determine if your sources are credible and scholarly.

Currency:

  • What year was this published or posted?
  • Has the information been revised or updated?
  • Is this the most updated information for your topic?
  • Are the links functional? (for web resources)

Relevance:

  • Does this information connect to your topic?
  • Did it teach you something new about your topic or expand your knowledge?
  • Who is the intended audience? (other researchers, general public, etc.)
  • Is the information at an appropriate level for your needs? (i.e., not too elementary or advanced?)

Authority:

  • What gives the authors the credibility to write about this topic?
  • Are they considered experts in their field?
  • Does the journal, website, or publisher tell you anything about the author's background?

Accuracy:

  • Is this information supported by evidence or other citations?
  • What bias might there be in this text?
  • Has this information been been peer-reviewed?
  • Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose:

  • Is this information intended to teach? To entertain? To tell? Is it fact or opinion?
  • Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
  • Is the information fact? Opinion? Propaganda? Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
  • Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

The SIFT method, established by research scientist Mike Caulfield, helps you analyze sources, especially news and other media. 

Stop:

  • Before reading an article, watching a video, or reacting to a source, stop yourself.
  • Get a sense of what you're looking at. Do you know this information source? Do you know it's reputation or claims?
  • If getting overwhelmed with fact-checking or navigating away from the original task, stop and reassess what you want to do.

Investigate the Source:

  • Know what you're reading before actually reading it.
  • If you aren’t familiar with a source, use Google or Wikipedia to investigate a news organization or other resource. Use Google Scholar to verify expertise of authors. 

Find Better Coverage:

  • Look for other trusted reporting or analysis on the claim of the source you found. 
  • Scan multiple sources for expert consensus or what better suits your needs, whether that's more trusted source, more in-depth sources, or more varied sources.

Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media to the Original Context:

  • View media in it’s original context to confirm if the version you saw was accurately presented.
  • Think about overall context, sequence of events, supporting evidence, and more.

Reference
Caulfield, M. (2019, June 19). SIFT (The four moves). Hapgood. https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/

ACT UP is a source evaluation method created by librarian Dawn Stahura to help researchers maintain quality scholarship and integrate diverse perspectives and non-dominant narratives into their work..

Author:

  • Who wrote the resource? Who are they? What do you know about the author(s)? Background information matters.
  • Are they qualified to speak on the topic? What are their credentials? 
  • Can you find other works? Can you use Google, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, or other resources to find information?

Currency:

  • When was this resource written? When was it published?
  • Does this resource fit into the currency of your topic?
  • Does this resource mostly contain outdated research? 

Truth:

  • How accurate or true is this information? Can you verify any of the claims by looking at other sources?
  • Are there typos, grammar errors, and spelling mistakes? Are there any words that evoke emotional responses?
  • Remember: Something found from a reputable site doesn't mean it's free from outdated research, misinformation, or false claims.

Unbiased:

  • Is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view?
  • What confirmation bias exists? Does it affect the way you search and choose resources? Be mindful of personalization features in searches!
  • Unless otherwise stated, resources should be impartial. But, keep in mind that bias not always bad, as long as the source is explicit about their bias and agenda.

Privilege:

  • Check the privilege of the author(s). Are they the only folks who might write or publish on this topic? Who is missing in this conversation?
  • Why is this research presented in this database? 
  • What are the subject terms associated with each resource you found? How are they described? Are there inherent biases?

Reference: 
Stahura, D. (2017) ACT UP: Evaluating sources. Accessed July 16, 2024 from https://www.emaze.com/@ATIFORFQ/act-upevaluating-resources

Reading Sources Critically

When reading and evaluating texts critically, consider the following:

  • Who is the author? What is their standing in the field?
  • What is the author’s purpose? Do they offer advice, make practical suggestions, solve a specific problem, or critique and clarify something?
  • Who are some experts in the field? Are there specific names, organizations, or labs that are frequently cited?
  • Is the methodology ethical and sound? What testing procedures, subjects, and materials were used?
  • Are there conflicting theories, methodologies, and results? Are there any assumptions being made by most/some researchers?
  • Have any theories or patterns evolved over time?
  • How does this study contribute to your research? What findings and conclusions can be synthesized with your work?

Across the articles that you read, consider:

  • Common or contested findings
  • Important trends
  • Influential theories