Health Sciences: HS 120

These databases can help you identify and access scholarly research articles in the health sciences.

You should think critically about information sources that you use, particularly if they will be cited in course assignments. Here are a few things to consider when evaluating sources…

How does it support your research question?

• What do you know now that you didn’t know before reading it?
• What does the source argue or demonstrate that none of your other sources do?
• What parts of your research question does it not help answer?

What makes it reliable?

• What did you feel when reading it?
• Have other people cited or referenced it?
• How might someone dismiss it?

Who wrote it and why?

• What qualifies the author(s) to write about the topic?
• How can you find more information about the author(s)?
• Who is the intended audience?

Where was it published?

• Who had to approve or review it before it could be published?
• Do you normally need a subscription to read it? If so, who is paying that subscription?
• Who can’t afford to pay to read it?

Video Playlist: Evaluating Online Sources (SIFT with Mike Caulfield for NewsWise.ca)

Mike Caulfield has identified 4 strategies for evaluating the credibility of online resources and reading critically. Caulfield's SIFT acronym (Stop. Pause and ask yourself; Investigate the source; Find trusted coverage; and Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context) gives you 4 things to do when reading online. 

Length: Playlist of 4 videos (each 2-4 mins.) 

Created by Newswise.ca with support from CIVIX, the Canadian Journalism Foundation, and the Google.org Charitable Giving Fund of Tides Foundation.