Construction Management

Image courtesy of https://www.fieldwire.com/blog/top-challenges-for-construction-project-managers/

 Remember that with library resources especially, it pays to search smart:

use AND in between search terms to group them together

use OR for more results

use NOT if you want to exempt a word from your results

use quotation marks "_" to isolate phrases

use the wildcard * to get all versions of a word

SIFT is a method you can use to evaluate your sources to help determine whether they are credible and reliable. Simply use the four moves below if you are worried about whether a source is trustworthy:

Stop

If you have a strong reaction to information you come across, this is a good indication to do more research. 

Ask yourself whether you know the source of the information, as well as that source's reputation. If you don’t have that information, use the other moves to get a sense of what you’re looking at.

Investigate the Source

Take time to look up the source and the author. Is this source credible? Is the author impartial, or do they have a vested interest in the argument that is being made?

One way to quickly determine an author or organization's agenda is to check their Wikipedia page.

Find Better Coverage

Try checking other sources to see how they are covering the topic you are researching. Scanning multiple sources quickly can help you determine the consensus around an issue or claim.

Trace Claims, Quotes and Media

Track down the original source of claims, quotes and media. Reputable news articles will provide links within the text, and academic articles provide sources in their footnotes and bibliography. Tracking down the original source will provide context and will show if that source was misrepresented in the article you are evaluating.

Caulfield, M. (2019, June 19).  SIFT (The Four Moves). Hapgood. https://hapgood.us/2019/06/19/sift-the-four-moves/.