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Misinformation, Disinformation, and Malinformation: An Informational Guide

How do you determine if a news source is reliable and factual? This in-depth guide will help you learn more about distorted information as it can appear in the media, as well as how to spot it.

SIFT Method

Blue flow chart depicting the SIFT Method.How can you investigate your sources for authority and factuality? Use SIFT!

The SIFT Method (sometimes called "The Four Moves") is based on the work of Mike Caufield.

When confronted with a resource, it's important to be discriminating about whether or not it's presenting up-to-date, unbiased, and verifiable information. You can use this method to review a source for its applicability and reliability to be used in your research.

Review the tabs to the upper-right to learn about the various steps of the SIFT Method. Want a helpful worksheet to use during the process? Click here!

Blue flow chart depicting the SIFT Method.S is for STOP!

What should you do when you come across a source for the first time, and it provokes a strong emotional reaction?

Take a moment to recognize that your reaction is emotional, not factual. When you come across a  source, don't let any initial responses to it influence your evaluation of it as a good or a bad resource for your purposes. Instead, consider these questions:

  • How am I feeling right now? What emotion(s) does this source provoke in me?
  • Is this source designed to provoke an emotional response, rather than to present objective, factual information?
  • What is my overall research goal? How can I focus on that?

Blue flow chart depicting the SIFT Method, Step 2 - Investigate.

I is for Investigate.

Once you've checked your emotional reaction(s) to a source, you can then dig deeper into reviewing that source.

While it's true that anyone can create a source, all sources are not created equal. Reputable sources are going to be developed by verifiable individuals or organizations who are specifically qualified to speak as an authority on the topic. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • Does the author have any sort of authority / expertise on this topic? Or do they just present their opinion pretty well?
  • Is the location of the source credible (like a peer-reviewed journal or database)?
  • Is the content of this source up-to-date and factually verifiable?

Blue flow chart depicting step 3 of the SIFT Method - Find.F is for Find.

Now that you've found a reputable source, you can use it to better-establish your understanding of the argument it makes.

Deepen your comprehension of the topic by comparing the information in this first source with information available through other sources. This is sometimes called "lateral reading," and it describes the process of reviewing multiple sources to see how all sources are approaching the topic. Consider the following:

  • Are all of these authors qualified to speak authoritatively on this topic?
  • Do they agree, disagree, and/or present different perspectives?
  • What other sources or viewpoints can you find?

Blue flow chart of step 4 of the SIFT Method - Trace.

T is for Trace.

As a final step in your review process, retrace the steps your sources have made to double-check their work.

This is a way of confirming that your sources have made well-informed decisions about their own research processes. In other words, you want to make sure that they went through the same process that you're going through now! To do this, investigate the following items:

  • Does this source reference other sources? If so, what kind(s) of sources?
  • Can the claims they make be factually verified? If so, where and how?
  • Are any references made academically and/or factually verifiable by other scholars and/or scholarly sources?