Did you find something you think you could use? Let's evaluate first!
C – Currency: When was this information written or last updated? Is it outdated?
R – Relevance: Does this help your topic? Is it an appropriate level?
A – Authority: Who wrote it? What are their qualifications?
A – Accuracy: Is it supported by evidence? Any typos or other errors?
P – Purpose: Is the info trying to inform, teach, sell, persuade, or entertain? Is the info fact, opinion, or propaganda? Why is the information here?
Stop
First, when you first hit a page or post and start to read it - STOP. Ask yourself whether you know the website or source of the information, and what the reputation of both the claim and the website is.
Investigate the source
Taking sixty seconds to figure out where it is from before reading will help you decide if it is worth your time, and if it is, help you to better understand its significance and trustworthiness.
Find better coverage
Sometimes you don't care about the particular article that reaches you. You care about the claim the article is making. You want to know if it is true or false. In this case your best strategy is to ignore the source that reached you and look for other trusted reporting or analysis on the claim.
Trace claims, quotes, and media back to the original context
Maybe a claim is made about a new medical treatment based on a research finding — but you’re not certain if the cited research paper really said that. In these cases we'll have you trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source, so you can see it in its original context and get a sense if the version you saw was accurately presented.
From Credo Reference:
One of the earliest and certainly the most influential definitions of evidence-based practice (EBP) is by Sackett et al. (1996): 'Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.' The focus of this definition is clearly on the use of research to inform decision-makers and enhance their decision-making capabilities. The decision-makers appear here to be the clinicians, those responsible for the care of individual patients, and indeed the experience and judgement of clinicians is an integral part of the process. However, an unrepresented group in this definition are patients, users or clients and it is essential that their subjective values, preferences, beliefs and opinions are incorporated into the decision-making process.