Evaluating Information

Is information "good" or "bad"?

  • Information is not inherently "good" or "bad."
  • All information has bias. Your job is to see the bias and decide what impact it has.
  • Determining whether or not information is useful depends on your information need.
  • What is your information need?

SIFT Information Evaluation Habits

Evaluating information is not easy and guidance is constantly being refined as online information continues to change.

One popular evaluation method often promoted is the CRAAP checklist. However, current research regarding evaluating  information suggests that these types of checklists are often ineffective in practice, instead promoting lateral reading.

How exactly do you practice lateral reading? Use SIFT to help you remember habits for evaluating information:
  • Stop
  • Investigate the source
  • Find other coverage
  • Trace claims, quotes, media to the original context
​Need specific tips about how to go about the IFT in SIFT?  Check out the WAAC Information Evaluation Menu.
  • Use Website and Author level tips to Investigate the source.
  • Use Article level tips to Find other coverage.
  • Use Claim level menu tips to Trace claims, quotes, media to the original context.
Information Timeline Infographic from time event occurs to 12+ months later
​Information Timeline Graphic by adstarkel. Used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Information changes over time!

The usefulness of information resources depends on your information need and can be affected by when you search.

If you want to find out about an event that just happened, where can you find up-to-the-moment information?

Twitter and other social media might have the most information, right?

But, if you want to understand the long term effects of an event, then you may need to wait until a more scholarly analysis may be written.

The "Information Timeline," also sometimes referred to as the "Information Cycle" illustrates how information changes over time.