Published on:

How to Evaluate Covid-19 Resources: the Good, Bad, Puzzling, Outdated, Rumor, Un/Official, and the Profiteering

By

How to Evaluate Covid-19 Resources:

I created this list for my Oregon librarian community (and with their invaluable assistance) but others may find the list useful.

I include full URLs, some of which I entered into the Internet Archive Wayback Machine, and sufficient bibliographic info to enable readers to locate new URLs if the ones listed break.

This blog’s embedded “Comment” process is imperfect, so feel free to email me directly <oregonlegalresearch at yahoo dot com> if you want to recommend additional evaluation resources. I can update this post or add a Part 2.

Some of these are specific to evaluating Covid-19 resources, others are resource evaluation guides for journalists and medical researchers – and students, generally. And some are dated, so follow updating recommendations!

National Network of Libraries of Medicine:
https://nnlm.gov/initiatives/topics/health-websites

And, NLM/NNLM’s health website for consumers, MedlinePlus:
https://medlineplus.gov/evaluatinghealthinformation.html

Caulfield SIFT Model:
More than one person mentioned the influence of Professor Mike Caulfield’s SIFT model when creating evaluation guides:
https://guides.pcc.edu/c.php?g=1006155&p=7293067
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/tskkdqm
See also: PCC Library’s “2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)”: https://guides.pcc.edu/novelcoronavirus

Professor Mike Caulfield from WSU Vancouver stresses that people should use the journalist’s fact checking approach, or lateral reading, instead of approaches often taught in schools and colleges, like TRAAP/CRAAP and RADCAB. His latest iteration is the SIFT method. Here are a few links.

Introducing SIFT, a Four Moves Acronym
SIFT (The Four Moves)
https://www.projectinfolit.org/mike-caulfield-smart-talk.html

And, Caulfied’s open access ebook, which is licensed under Creative Commons:
“WEB LITERACY FOR STUDENT FACT CHECKERS,” by Michael A. Caulfield

Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers

Politifact Article and Guide:
Article: 7 Ways to Avoid Misinformation During the Coronavirus Pandemic at Politifact:
https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/mar/11/7-ways-avoid-misinformation-during-coronavirus-pan/
TinyUrl: https://tinyurl.com/rw6tshj

Tip sheet / guide (linked to in the above article):
PolitiFact: MisInformation Handbook: Epidemics:
https://static.politifact.com/politifact/photos/PolitiFacts_Epidemic_Misinformation_Handbook.jpg
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/sgh2vr5

First Draft single page tip sheet and article:
Tip Sheet: Don’t Get Tricked by Online Misinformation (First Draft):
https://firstdraftnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/SHEEP_FINAL-scaled.png
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/w6gq644

First Draft article: The 6 Types of Coronavirus Misinformation to Watch Out For at First Draft News:

The 6 types of coronavirus misinformation to watch out for


See also their page: https://firstdraftnews.org/latest/

Stanford History Education Group (SHEG):
https://sheg-cor.cdn.prismic.io/sheg-cor/d58654d5-d7d7-4149-afb7-08950456adaa_COR-Classroom-Poster-blue.pdf
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/rltloco

Podcast: On the Media: from their March 27, 2020 program, Playing The Hero:
URL: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/armchair-virology-goes-viral
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/qm4s2a2

Programming Librarian (ALA):
The Facts: Fighting Fake News in the Pandemic: https://programminglibrarian.org/articles/facts-fighting-fake-news-pandemic

Infographic from IFLA (multiple languages):
https://www.ifla.org/publications/node/11174

WHO (World Health Organization):
Another source that is “official” is the mythbusters site from WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters
TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/r4wnxbd

END, list updated by Laura Orr, 4/1/2020

Contact Information