“Good” sources include those that provide complete, current, factual information, and/or credible arguments based on the information creator’s original research, expertise, and/or use of other reliable sources.
Whether a source is a good choice for you depends on your information needs and how you plan to use the source.
The SIFT* & PICK approach to evaluating sources helps you select quality sources by practicing:
Lateral Reading (SIFT): fact-checking by examining other sources and internet fact-checking tools; and
Vertical Reading (PICK): examining the source itself to decide whether it is the best choice for your needs.
*The SIFT method was created by Mike Caulfield under a CC BY 4.0 International License.
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SIFT & PICK by Ellen Carey is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Last updated 4/11/23.
SIFT and PICK Fact Checking and Source Evaluation box from SBCC Luria Library
A link or url tells you quite a bit about where the information on the page comes from and who the intended audience is. The last three letters of a url (uniform resource locator) or link will tell you a great deal about who owns a website, who writes the content and what their purpose is.
Top-level domain |
Abbreviation for: |
Who uses it | Url of example website |
.com |
commercial | commercial entities | https://www.amazon.com/ |
.edu |
education | universities and colleges | https://www.berkeley.edu/ |
.gov |
government | U.S. government | https://www.usgs.gov/ |
.net |
network | network infrastructure | https://www.slideshare.net/ |
.org |
organization | nonprofit organizations | https://www.sierraclub.org/ |
.mil |
military | U.S. military | https://www.marines.mil/ |