Business

You will need to evaluate each resource you use for research, whether it is an online or print journal article, a website, a book, a newspaper article, or other source that you want to cite.

Use the two frameworks below to analyze materials and to assess how appropriate they will be for your research. Keep in mind that many publications have a particular bias or agenda, which may not be obvious at first glance.

Don't expect to be able to answer every question, all the time, for all information resources you look at. Rather, try to use the questions as a tool to help you look at sources critically. 

SIFT

SIFT: a four-step technique developed by Mike Caulfield from the University of Washington, used to assess information and appropriate for anyone who engages in information-seeking behaviour.

• Stop: Pause to think about the information critically.
• Investigate the source: Investigate who the information was created by and why it was created. Look at the about section of a site. 
• Find better coverage: Identify alternative resources that cover the same area to see if there is a consensus.
• Trace claims, quotes, and media to the original context: If claims are cited, look into the original source and repeat the SIFT process. If attribution is missing (a red flag), investigate more deeply to see if a claim has any basis.

RADAR

RADAR: a framework designed by Jane Mandalios from the American College of Greece to help students evaluate online resources.

• Relevance: How is the information relevant to your project?
• Authority: Who created the resource and how credible are they? What institution are they affiliated with?
• Date: When was the information published, and is it still accurate/relevant today?
• Appearance: Does the resource look clean and professional? Is the language formal and academic?
• Reason for writing: To your best knowledge, why was this resource created? Was it to refute/discredit another point of view? Was it to sell or promote something?

Adapted from UBC Library and used under Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/