Understand that the phrase "Last updated" could just indicate simple stylistic changes in colors or layout - not necessarily any updates or corrections of the page's content.
Relevance
Does the information meet your research needs?
Is the information basic or advanced?
Is coverage of the topic complete or does it leave out important information?
Does it offer different perspectives?
Is there a bibliography? Are the sources mentioned relevant and credible?
How does the content compare to other resources on the topic?
Authority
Who authored the website?
Are they an authority on the subject?
If the author is an organization, what do you know about its purpose?
Accuracy
Can the accuracy of the information presented be verified via non-web sources?
Are there basic spelling or grammatical errors?
Is it written for a specific audience?
Does the information fit in with other sources you have found on the topic?
Does the author use footnotes or other source citations to verify their information?
Purpose
Does the site present fact or opinion?
Is the purpose of the site to inform? To sell? To persuade?
Does the site show multiple sides of an issue? Bias does not necessarily mean you must reject a source, but be sure that you can identify it.
Who is the intended audience? Advanced researchers? Young students? Members of an organization?
SIFT is a helpful acronym that describes steps used to evaluate the information you find online.
STOP
Check yourself. Recognize your own biases, beliefs, and potential blind spots and acknowledge that they will affect your judgment.
Stay on task. It is easy to get lost exploring interesting tangents while researching. If this happens, stop and remember what you actually need for your project.
INVESTIGATE the Source
Who shared or made this source? Even if the sources you’ve found seem to fit your project’s topic well, you will still need to evaluate them in other ways. You need to understand the background of the author(s) and publisher. What is their reputation? How is their information presented (fact or opinion)? Are there any conflicts of interest that might affect the way that they represent this topic?
FIND Better Coverage
What else is out there? Before using a source check to see if the topic has been covered elsewhere. Has anyone else written about it? Do other publications provide more information about the topic, or better context? Do they tell the same story and contain the same facts? Try to locate additional sources that are more detailed, varied, transparent, authoritative, and/or build upon the information presented in your initial source.
TRACE the Information
Context matters. Before trusting or reusing information, look for the original source. Who first wrote about the topic? When was it first published? Is it accurate? At this point, you may need to repeat steps I and F in order to evaluate a new information source.
