Sift Stop Investigate Source Find Better Coverage Trace Claims

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 5, 2025, 10:28 PM

sift stop investigate source find better coverage trace claims

The SIFT method is an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether online content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from his materials with a CC BY 4.0 license. Determining if resources are credible is challenging. Use the SIFT method to help you analyze information, especially news or other online media. Before you read or share an article or video, STOP! Be aware of your emotional response to the headline or information in the article.

Headlines are often meant to get clicks, and will do so by causing the reader to have a strong emotional response. What you already know about the topic. The SIFT Method, which was developed by Mike Caulfield (2019), is a four-step approach to evaluating information critically. This method consists of four key moves: (1) Stop; (2) Investigate the source; (3) Find better coverage; and (4) Trace claims to their original context. By applying this critical framework, you can enhance your ability to assess the credibility of various types of information, identify reliable sources, and make informed decisions about the content you encounter.

SIFT provides a valuable addition to or alternative to the CRAAP method. Authority & Credibility – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing; Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing; Research Deepfakes & Misinformation; The CRAAP... The SIFT Method, developed by Mike Caulfield (2019), a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Center for an Informed Public, provides a heuristic for engaging in information evaluation. In his SIFT method, Mike Caulfield emphasizes that the first step in assessing the credibility of a source is to stop and pause before reacting. This concept aligns with Viktor Frankl’s idea that “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and our freedom.“ While Frankl’s reflection focuses on personal agency and existential freedom—rooted in his experiences in Nazi concentration camps—Caulfield focuses on pausing in the face of new information. Caulfied argues this practice is crucial whether the information supports your preconceptions or challenges your beliefs. What is SIFT (Infographic) This link opens in a new window The SIFT information presented has been adapted from materials by Mike Caulfield with a CC BY 4.0 This link opens in a new window license. Check out Shapiro Library's Emily Evaluates series!

Emily Evaluates with SIFT is a 6 part narrative series of 1-2 minute videos in which a college student named Emily investigates accusations of fraud made against one of her professors using the SIFT... Follow along as Emily applies the SIFT steps in a real world scenario! SIFT is a source evaluation methodology created by Mike Caulfield, a misinformation researcher. SIFT is a four-step method that helps you quickly evaluate online information by focusing your attention on what matters. The four moves—Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims to the original context—guide you in identifying reliable sources, avoiding misinformation, and amplifying accurate content. By applying these moves with simple web techniques, you can become a more discerning consumer of information and resist the pull of clickbait.

The SIFT method is especially helpful for evaluating news, social media, or other online media. Sometimes, after you investigate the source, you'll find that the source is sufficient for your needs. However, this is not always the case. Maybe the quality of the source is low or it doesn’t adequately answer the questions you have. This is when you would find better coverage. If you can’t determine the reliability of the source and you want to get an accurate story on the subject or claim, your best strategy is to start searching elsewhere.

Below is a video (4:28) explaining this process in more detail. Celebrity death hoaxes are a simple example of when you would find better coverage. They happen from time to time and it is very easy to check if something is a death hoax or not. You might see this article someone shared on social media of Keanu Reeve’s death. Sometimes, after you investigate the source, you'll find that the source is sufficient for your needs. However, this is not always the case.

Maybe the quality of the source is low or it doesn’t adequately answer the questions you have. This is when you would find better coverage. If you can’t determine the reliability of the source and you want to get an accurate story on the subject or claim, your best strategy is to start searching elsewhere. Below is a video (4:28) explaining this process in more detail. Celebrity death hoaxes are a simple example of when you would find better coverage. They happen from time to time and it is very easy to check if something is a death hoax or not.

You might see this article someone shared on social media of Keanu Reeve’s death. SIFT is a series of steps to take when evaluating the reliability of web sites and their claims. It is based on an approach used by professional fact-checkers, and was developed by Mike Caulfield from Washington State University. Each letter in SIFT stands for one of the steps: When you see a web site that you are considering using or sharing, stop and ask yourself: Don't use the source until you have found out more about its content, its creator, and its publisher.

Watch the video below, which highlights the importance of verifying your sources, and then proceed to the next step (Investigate). Lateral reading is the process of using other sources to help you verify the credibility or accuracy of a source. Watch the short video below (3 min 34 sec) to learn more. The SIFT Method is a four-step process of evaluating a source through lateral reading. This method works well for online formats and popular sources. SIFT stands for Stop, Investigate the Source, Find Better Coverage, and Trace Back to the Original Source.

Click through the tabs on the left to learn more about each of the four steps. SIFT is an action method for evaluating sources, especially those that make claims on the web and social media. When you initially encounter a source of information and start to read it—stop. Ask yourself whether you know and trust the author, publisher, publication, or website. If you don’t, use the other fact-checking moves that follow, to get a better sense of what you’re looking at. In other words, don’t read, share, or use the source in your research until you know what it is, and you can verify it is reliable.

This is a particularly important step, considering what we know about the attention economy—social media, news organizations, and other digital platforms purposely promote sensational, divisive, and outrage-inducing content that emotionally hijacks our attention in... Stop and check your emotions before engaging! You don’t have to do a three-hour investigation into a source before you engage with it. But if you’re reading a piece on economics, and the author is a Nobel prize-winning economist, that would be useful information. Likewise, if you’re watching a video on the many benefits of milk consumption, you would want to be aware if the video was produced by the dairy industry. This doesn’t mean the Nobel economist will always be right and that the dairy industry can’t ever be trusted.

But knowing the expertise and agenda of the person who created the source is crucial to your interpretation of the information provided. When investigating a source, fact-checkers read “laterally” across many websites, rather than digging deep (reading “vertically”) into the one source they are evaluating. That is, they don’t spend much time on the source itself, but instead they quickly get off the page and see what others have said about the source. They open up many tabs in their browser, piecing together different bits of information from across the web to get a better picture of the source they’re investigating. SIFT is an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert Michael Caulfield (Washington State University Vancouver) to help you judge whether or online content can be trusted for credible and reliable information. The SIFT strategy is quick, simple, and can be applied to various kinds of online content: social media posts, memes, statistics, videos, images, news articles, scholarly articles, etc.

TRACE CLAIMS, QUOTES, AND MEDIA BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT SIFT is an additional set of skills to build on “checklist” approaches to evaluating online content. Some checklist questions you might ask yourself when initially arriving at a webpage: In today’s world, asking yourself these kinds of questions is no longer enough. Why? Check those facts and be a confident information consumer.

The following 5 tutorials will walk you through the SIFT steps: Stop, Investigate the Source, Fine Better Coverage, Trace Claims. You will receive a certificate of completion for each of the 5 sections.

Sift Stop Investigate Source Find Better Coverage Trace Claims

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