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SWIFT Method for Evaluating Resources: Home

SWIFT is a way to evaluate information you find online using fact-checking, lateral reading, and common tools like Wikipedia and Google. Also includes information about the CRAAP test, a checklist that emphasizes vertical reading.

Additional SIFT & SWIFT Resources

Vocabulary & Glossary

  • Disinformation - Untrue information that is created or shared intentionally to mislead or falsify facts.
     
  • Misinformation - Untrue or inaccurate information created or shared without deliberate intention to mislead or falsify facts.

Definitions are paraphrased from the American Psychological Association's Misinformation and Disinformation webpage

SWIFT Method (Five Moves) For Evaluating Sources

Evaluating information you find online on social media and in the course of research can be tricky. Checklists like the CRAAP test don't always catch more complex forms of suspect information out there

A more effective evaluative method is abbreviated as SWIFT and involves analyzing information using five steps. These five steps will use common applications and sites like WikipediaGoogle appscontextual clues, and fact-checking techniques instead of a checklist. 

This image shows the SWIFT acronym for evaluating sources. S is for Stop, W for Wikipedia for fact-checking, I for Investigate the source, F for Find better coverage, and finally T for trace the context.

 

SWIFT was adapted by Professor Chimene Burnett at TAMU-CC and is based on the SIFT method created by educational technologist Mike Caulfield in 2019. You may see many references to SIFT on this guide and in other places.

Acknowledgement & Attribution

Note: This SWIFT method guide was adapted from Michael Caulfield's "SIFT Method" and Professor Chimene Burnett's (TAMU-CC) SWIFT adaptation. The canonical version of the SIFT course exists at http://lessons.checkplease.cc. The text and media of the SIFT site, where possible, is released into the CC-BY, and free for reuse and revision. We ask people copying this course to leave this note intact, so that students and teachers can find their way back to the original (periodically updated) version if necessary. We also ask librarians and reporters to consider linking to the canonical version.

As the authors of the original version have not reviewed any other copy's modifications, the text of any site not arrived at through the above link should not be sourced to the original authors.