For college-level research, you'll want to consider using only the highest-quality information sources that you can find. Between the internet and SU’s library, the "best" information can depend on the assignment. Here are some ways to determine the best information sources to lend support to your own research. I prefer the SIFT method, but you also may find other methodologies like CRAAP or ACT-UP useful.
Stop: The source you found seems great. Stop to take a moment to evaluate it.
Investigate the source: This is exactly as it seems. For example, if you found an article, what journal published it? Does it have a reputation, or is it difficult to find information about it? What about the author(s)? Typically, you can find a trail of their productivity and credentials that indicate experise. Use lateral reading in which you search out opinions of other reputable sources to know what they think of your source.
Find better coverage: Evaluate the source you found further by finding and comparing other sources on the topic. As a researcher, it always helps to explore multiple viewpoints on a topic to get a sense of the scholarly conversation that is taking place. When you do this, even quickly, you may come across an even better source than you initially discovered.
Trace claims to the original context: For scholarly works, we can think of "tracing claims" as verifying that the authors' conclusions stem directly from their results. Scholarly articles will typically share their claim in an introduction section at the top, an analysis of a review, research methods, and results, and then offer a conclusion based on these sections.
The ACT UP method was developed by Dawn Stahura and you can view her ACT UP LibGuide explaining the process further.
Author: What do you know about the person who wrote the article? What is their background? Education? Affiliiations? Consider the author's motivation, that is why they wrote the piece, is it purely to educate or is it to persuade or sell something?
Currency: Look at the date of publication; is there more recent research into this topic?
Truth: Can you back up the claims made with at least 3 additional sources? Can you create the methodology and get the same results?
Unbiased: While no resource can claim to be 100% unbiased, it's still important to consider existing biases and the affect they may have on the research being presented. Ask yourself, who funded this research? Does the researcher have any conflict of interests? Consider your own bias, how might your bias affect you search strategies and methods?
Privilege: In academia researchers have a tendency to privilege peer-reviewed scholarly articles above all else. However, traditionally, publishing is a field dominated by white, male authors. Consider who is missing from the scholarly conversation. Privileging scholarly journals can exclude research done in the global south. Consider the methodology of the research, who participates in a research study? Based on the participants can that research be generalized to the whole population or just a segment? Are there non-scholarly sources that may bring an important perspective?
This level of criteria examines items you can evaluate simply based on the article citation and abstract. No other resource is required.
This level of criteria examines items that require using outside resources to investigate and resolve
What kind of article are you looking at?
News story: a factual, prose story for print or broadcast media about a person, place or event answering these five questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. A news story is written in the inverted-pyramid style, giving the most important information first and additional details later.
Editorial: a brief article written by an editor that expresses a newspaper's or publishing house's own views and policies on a current issue. If written by an outsider it normally carries a disclaimer saying the article does not necessarily reflects the publisher's official views.
Opinion piece: an article in which the writer expresses their personal opinion, typically one which is controversial or provocative, about a particular issue or item of news.
Advertisement: a paid, public communication about causes, goods, services, ideas, organizations, people, or places designed to inform or motivate. Words to look out for include "sponsored" or "paid advertisement."
What is the main point of the story? Do the headline and the lead support the main point of the story?
The headline (title) and lead (the first sentence or two of an article; sometimes known as a "hook") do not always line up with the article's main point.
When either of these sounds sensational or leading (You Won't Believe What Happened Next!), they could be fishing for views or clicks. i.e., click bait
Likewise, headlines displayed in social media or news wires do not always match the headline on the original source. While this may not discount the source itself, it is necessary to take notice of this.
Has the story answered the questions of Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?
What is unknown, unanswered, or unclear should be acknowledged.
Other sides should be given a chance to present their argument.
Many breaking stories are incomplete or inaccurate due to deadlines and the 24hr news cycle. If more information is made available, the story should be updated accordingly.
What evidence supports the main point of the story? What evidence has been verified? How was it verified? What evidence has not been verified? Is the evidence direct or indirect?
Evidence is not the same as a source. Evidence is the proof a source offers. Evidence that is verified has been checked and corroborated via a stated method of verification.
What kind of sources are cited in the article? Are they reliable? How do you know?
A source is the person, report, or data being quoted in an article.
Sources can be named or unnamed. Multiple or single. Credentialed or not. Close to the event/issue or not. Named, multiple, credentialed, close sources are preferred, though in some cases an anonymous source may not be named due to potential backlash or harm to the source for speaking out.
When looking at reports or data as a source, be sure to look at the producer of the information. Do they have a stake in the event or issue that could make the report or data biased?
Does the journalist/reporter/news source make their work transparent? How does the editorial board, the publisher, and the advertising department work together? Does the paper have a code of ethics?
Finding out what influence different departments have or don't have on each other should be easy if it is a reputable source.
A code of ethics, standards, or guidebook should be associated with the news source and easy to find.
Potential conflicts of interest or known associations should be stated up front in an article.
Funding and ownership of the media production should be publicly available.
Credit: The University of Texas Libraries, "Evaluating News Sources." http://guides.lib.utexas.edu/news