Once you've examined your source you may find it to be inadequate, or you may not have found any information about it at all. In this case, your best bet might not be to investigate the source, but to go out and find the best source you can on this topic, or, just as importantly, to scan multiple sources and see what the expert consensus seems to be.
Do you have to agree with the consensus once you find it? Absolutely not! But understanding the context and history of a claim will help you better evaluate it and form a starting point for future investigation.
When you're focusing on the content you've found, as opposed to who created/published the content, there are a few strategies you can use.
► Try using lateral reading to cross-check the content you're looking at with other content on the web.
► Use fact-checking websites like Snopes, PolitiFact, and FactCheck.org to see if professional fact checkers have already investigated the information you've found.
The information on this research guide is adapted from Mike Caulfield's materials with a CC BY 4.0 license, CTRL-F Verification Skills Module, presented by CIVIX, and Caulfield, M., & Wineburg, S. S. (2023). Verified: How to think straight, get duped less, and make better decisions about what to believe online. The University of Chicago Press.