In the past, students were taught to evaluate websites using tools like C.R.A.P., S.T.A.A.R., or the ABC’s, which helped you check things like the website’s URL, who created it, and whether the information was accurate. You might look for an “About” page or check if the site ends in .gov or .org to decide if it’s trustworthy. While that’s still helpful, it’s not enough anymore. Some websites look professional and seem reliable, but they’re actually hiding false or misleading content. That’s why researchers now use a method called Lateral Reading. Instead of just staying on one page, you open new tabs and search for what other trusted sources say about the site or its authors. You go broad, not deep, to see the bigger picture and find out if the site is really trustworthy.
To help with this, there’s a strategy called SIFT, which stands for Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims to the original context. SIFT works perfectly with lateral reading because it reminds you to pause before trusting a source, look into who created it, compare it with other sources, and check where the information originally came from. Using SIFT and lateral reading together helps you become a smarter researcher and avoid falling for websites that look good on the surface but aren’t reliable underneath.
"SIFT" in research stands for "Stop, Investigate, Find, Trace" and is a method developed by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield from Washington State University to evaluate the credibility of online information sources, particularly news articles, by checking the source, finding other coverage on the topic, and tracing claims back to their original context; essentially acting as a guide to verify information before accepting it as reliable. The following videos are by Mike Caulfield and take you through his steps in SIFT.
