Publication information is included for articles and other items in a library database, making the citation creation process easier.
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Review assignment instructions and make a list of what you will need to meet the requirements.
Look through course materials—such as textbooks, slides, notes, and etcetera—and see if any potential topics stand out. Was there anything you wanted to explore further?
Try to get a better understanding of your topic and the common thoughts or debates surrounding it.
Refine and revise your topic as you learn more about it during your background research.
Once you settle on a topic, develop it into a “how” or “why” question that you want to answer with your research.
Next, develop keywords and start your research!
This infographic was created as part of Smiley Memorial Library's Introduction to Research Skills Guide.
https://centralmethodist.libguides.com
Email: library@centralmethodist.edu
Phone: 660-248-6271
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When was the item published?
How current should the source you use be? (Subjects like nursing will need recently published articles, whereas history research can often utilize older sources)
Is the source relevant to your research?
Does it meet your research needs?
Does the article offer enough coverage of your topic within the context of your research question?
What is the purpose of the source?
Is it an opinion piece? A research article?
Who is the intended audience? Is it a scholarly or popular source?
Does the source meet the guidelines or requirements for your assignment?
Do you need peer-reviewed journal articles? Popular source?
Ask yourself what you know about the website, publishers, or source. Do you have a good understanding of the authority or relevance of the source?
Investigate the source of the information to get a better understanding of the source’s biases, expertise, and authority on the subject. Is the source trustworthy?
Examine coverage of the claim in other sources. Is the claim subject to debate? Is it generally agreed upon by trustworthy sources?
Trace videos, quotes, claims, and headlines back to their original source. Is the information presented accurately? Is the information used within the context of the source? Is the original source trustworthy?
Mike Caulfield. (2019, June 19). SIFT (The four moves), Hapgood, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Return to "Evaluating Sources Using the S.I.F.T. Method" Infographic
Databases do not process "natural language" in the same way as many of the search engines that we are used to. Full sentence searches will not find you the most relevant results. Instead, databases are searched using keywords and keyword phrases. Identifying a list of keywords is often called developing a search strategy. Follow the below steps to identify keywords for your research.
Develop your topic into a question that you want to answer with your research. A good research question will focus your topic and give you a path for your research.
Do major ideas or themes stand out in your research question? Try to break your question down into at least three major concepts.
Do the concepts you found go by another name? Are there similar concepts that could be used in their place? Write down any related terms or synonyms. These, along with the main concepts, can be used as keywords in your search.
Use the keywords you just found to conduct a search on a database. You can combine keywords with Boolean Operators, truncate keywords to find multiple endings, and much more!
Smiley Memorial Library
Central Methodist University
Phone: 660-248-6271
Email: library@centralmethodist.edu
Click away from the story to investigate the site, its mission and its contact info.
Headlines can be outrageous in an effort to get clicks. What's the whole story?
Do a quick search on the author. Are they credible? Are they real?
Click on those links. Determine if the info given actually supports the story.
Reposting old news stories doesn't mean they're relevant to current events.
If it is too outlandish, it might be satire. Research the site and author to be sure.
Consider if your own beliefs could affect your judgement.
Ask a librarian, or consult a fact-checking site.
This infographic is available through the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and is licensed with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
660-248-6271
library@centralmethodist.edu