Use a critical eye and a healthy dose of scepticism when viewing any information on the internet. This includes scholarly resources you find on the web. Ask yourself these questions as you evaluate the content.
Who posted/created the information and what is their motivation? What is their reputation? Any clues in the URL (e.g. .gov, .edu)?
Who is the intended audience? Is there an agenda such as selling a product, politics, religion, etc.?
Are known credible sources saying the same thing?
What is the original source of the information? Has the information changed in the retelling? This may be intentional but also people make mistakes!
What kinds of sources are linked or referenced on the site? Is the "evidence" anecdotal or consist of testimonials
Keep in mind:
The SIFT* method is four steps that are quick and easy to use and an excellent way to decide if an information source is valid.
STOP Don't engage with the source until you've asked yourself if you know the author or the website. If you don't, more fact-checking is needed before you read or share the source. This is also where you should stop and think if you trust this source only because it reinforces a personal/community bias or perception.
INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE Knowing the expertise and the agenda of the source is vital in the decision to trust the information. Read laterally: get off the page you are on and look around the web to see what else is out there about this source. Wikipedia can be a great help here.
FIND BETTER COVERAGE Sometimes you can't determine the credibility of a source or you are less concerned about the source and are more interested in a specific claim the source has made. Go find another source (maybe one that you already know that you can trust) that is talking about this concept and investigate the claim from there. Make use of the Oxy Library databases to investigate research claims!
TRACE TO ORIGINAL CONTEXT Go upstream to the original source. An article, video, or post that you are viewing may have originally been reported by another source (reporting on a report). Find the original source of the report and determine if the version of what you are seeing is being accurately represented.
*Created by Mike Caulfield. SIFT method from Introduction to College Research by Walter D. Butler; Aloha Sargent; and Kelsey Smith is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
The SIFT Method incorporates lateral reading. Take a look at this short video from the University of Arizona about fact checking and lateral reading.