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Dual Credit ENG 151 - SIFT Method for Evaluating Sources

This guide explains how to use the SIFT Method for evaluating sources. SIFT stands for Stop, Investigate the claim, Find better coverage, and Trace back to the original source.

Learning Outcomes

Information literacy is defined as knowing when you need information, then knowing how to find it, evaluate it, and use it effectively. In this module, we'll focus on the evaluate part of that definition.

You’ll learn how to use the SIFT method, a simple 4-step process to evaluate information to help you decide if your sources are credible and appropriate for your college assignments. 

The module consists of:

  • Written content
  • Short videos
  • Quiz - The SIFT Quiz will ask you to evaluate three pre-selected sources and answer some questions about each source. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  1. Evaluate the quality of a source using multiple criteria.
  2. Recognize different information formats to select an appropriate format for a specific information need.
  3. Distinguish between a popular and a scholarly source.
  4. Investigate a source to determine its purpose and authority.
  5. Locate the information cited within a source when determining the credibility of the source.

The Research Process

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The Research Process

  1. Information need: What is your assignment asking you to find? 
  2. Pre-research: Choose a topic, learn more about it, narrow it down, find keywords.
  3. Research question: What is your assignment asking you to create?
  4. Search strategy: Where will you look for information?
  5. Search: Start with the main ideas of your topic or research question.
  6. Evaluate every source you find - for credibility and usefulness.
  7. Cite: You have found credible sources and answered your research question!