Forensic Science

Dependability Checklist

To help you evaluate articles and information you find for your assessments and research, we have created a Dependability Checklist! It can help you make decisions about the dependability, credibility and trustworthiness of the sources you are considering using in your assessments.

The checklist contains ten questions to get you thinking critically about the resource in front of you. Once you have developed the skills, you won’t need to rely on the checklist.

Each question asks for your YES or NO response about a particular feature of your resource. More YES answers result in a higher dependability score.

But remember evaluation is a critical thinking skill, not a formula! You may have a good reason to keep a source that has scored lower.

The SIFT Method

The SIFT Method is a simple 4-step method to help you evaluate information that you find on the web. This method, based on fact-checking strategies, helps you to quickly make a decision about whether or not a source is worthy of your attention.

Click on the plus (+) icons below to learn more about the steps in the SIFT method:

Develop your 'Investigate' technique

Fact checking is a key skill in the Investigate step of the SIFT Method. Watch this video where SIFT creator Mike Caulfield explains how to quickly and easily fact check a source.