Fact-Checking and Research

There’s always that one annoying person who asks, “Oh, and what makes your claim true? What are your sources?” — and at times you don’t have an answer. Since knowledge is power and validation a savory satisfaction, it’s important to have your ideas backed up by research. Whether you are in an academic setting or not, you should keep your facts checked and straight. 

With online journalism being all the rage nowadays, it’s easy to just open a Google tab and get all the information you need. But is that information always true? Of course not. Spreading fake news is an inherently human thing, apparently, and you need to be wary of your sources.

So, how do I fact-check?

• Check the source: Does it come from a credible website? 

• Read the whole thing: Sometimes, people just read the headline and base their entire perspective on it. Read the article, get the full story.

• Find supporting sources: Does this information match the one on other websites and articles? 

• Don’t be biased: If the source seems to focus on one side of the story that you also lean towards, find another one that gives a different perspective. One side of the coin isn’t enough.

• Check the dates: How long ago was this article published? Has there been any updates to this event? Using the most up-to-date information is better. 

There are five steps to it: 

• Be specific: What exactly am I looking for? Have scopes and limitations, choose keywords, and develop your topic.

• Read up: If you’re not familiar with the topic at all, read first before gathering data. Understand what you’re looking at.

• Locate materials: Where will you get your sources from? Websites, journals, articles, videos, photographs, what else? Choose your poison, drink it. 

• Organize and evaluate: How are you going to present your data? What will you put and leave out? Are your sources primary, secondary, or tertiary? 

• Cite, cite, cite!: It’s important to give credit. This helps you avoid plagiarism, and allows others to access the sources used and get a chance to read more about it. 

An Important Tip: Just like in fact-checking, it’s important to remain unbiased in research too. Getting all the perspectives helps understand things better; don’t be afraid to find a source that is against your research! Different insights add more depth to your research.  

If you want to know more about developing research questions, watch this video by Scribbr, which talks about finding a question that gives your research a clear focus.

Additionally, if you are not entirely sure of your fact-checking skills, try finding out more about your source on Google's Fact-Checking Tool, where you can type in anything to get accurate information.