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First Year Instruction: RWS, LING, and GEN S

A guide for librarians

Learning Objectives

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  1. Evaluate search results for relevance by examining the article's title, subject headings, and abstract
  2. Discern between document types (peer-reviewed article, trade journal article, etc.) based on given criteria
  3. Examine the content of an article using evaluation heuristics such as The CRAAP Test or SIFT
  4. Rank and discuss the value of evaluation criteria based on research needs

Evaluation Heuristics

Evaluation criteria will always depend on the source type and your information need, however it can be helpful for beginning researchers to have a checklist to get started. 
There are several methods for evaluating content. Here are a few examples:

 

1. 4Ws for evaluating articles

What?

What type of article is this? Who is the intended audience? Is the information based on fact or opinion? Was it written to inform or persuade?  Is there a bibliography?

Article type (circle one):

  • Research/Primary
  • Review/Meta-analysis
  • Magazine/Popular
  • Trade/Professional
  • News 
  • Editorial (written by editorial board) or Op-ed
  • Other: 

Comments:

 

When?

When was this written?  Some topics require current information, while other topics value both current and historical information.   

Year published:

 

Comments:

 

Who?

Who is the author(s)?  What type of experience or education do they have? What else have they written?

 

Who published this article?  (hint: look for a journal or publication title)

Author(s):

Affiliation:

Education:

Journal, magazine, or newspaper name:

Comments: 

 

Why?

Why did you choose this article? Does it help to refute or support an argument? Provide additional examples or data?

Ask yourself if you chose this article simply because it confirms your previously held beliefs.

Does the author make any claims that need to be further investigated? Do they list references that you can follow up on?

 Comments:

2. CRAAP Test 

Currency When was it written? Has it been updated or revised?
Relevance Who is it written for? Is it clear and easy to understand?
Authority Who is the author(s)?  What is their education and experience? 
Accuracy Is there evidence to support the information?
Purpose Is the information based on fact or opinion?  Is there evidence of bias?

Evaluating Websites

The wild, wild, web often requires an extra level of evaluation than sources found through the library.  Here are a couple of different methods specifically designed for website evaluation. 

1. SIFT

The SIFT Method was created by Mike Caufield in his online course, Check, Please! Here is a link to a detailed explanation of the method.  

Stop
Investigate the source
Find better coverage
Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context 

2. Lateral Reading

Based on research from the Stanford Study: Lateral Reading and the Nature of Expertise 

Who's behind the information?
What's the evidence?
What do other sources say?

Civic Online Reading (COR) has free lesson plans, assessments, student materials, teacher materials

Here's a short video that explains lateral reading. 

Fact Checking Sources

There are also a growing number of fact-checking organizations.  Some are affiliated with well established news sources like the New York Times.  These are good sources for verifying trending news stories and other info that has "gone viral" on social media and other online platforms.