There are a lot of sources for information: journals and magazines, encyclopedias, books, and the Web. As a student, one of the most important skills you can develop is the ability to evaluate information. One way to evaluate information is by using the CRAP Test, which is based on work done at a Library Orientation Exchange (LOEx) conference and expanded by the Meriam Library at CSU Chico, where they call it the CRAAP Test. The CRAP or CRAAP test is a set of criteria that can be used to evaluate information, especially information on the Web. It stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose (or Point of View). Below are some questions to ask when evaluating information on the Web.
Currency
- How recent is the information?
- Do you need the most recent information on the topic or would older information also be useful? (Remember, information on heirloom plants might be in older publications).
- For Web sites, when was the site last updated?
- Is the information current enough for your topic?
- Are the references cited current?
Relevance (or Reliability)
- Does the information provided meet your needs?
- Can you answer your research question with the information or data provided?
- Is the source trustworthy?
Authority
- Who is the author, creator or publisher?
- What are their credentials?
- Who is the sponsor or publisher? Who funds the site?
- Are they reputable?
- What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?
- Are there advertisements on the website?
- What is their Domain Name? (last 3 letters in URL)? Common Domain Names are:
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- .edu – Educational Institutions (usually 4-year universities).
- .org – Organizations (need to be evaluated).
- .gov – Government Agencies (State or Federal).
- .com – Company or Commercial.
- .net – Network or Server provider.
- It is possible to limit an internet search to a particular domain. The following search will only find items at educational institutions. The second search will only find resources from government agencies.
"purple loosestrife" site:edu "purple loosestrife" site:gov
Accuracy
- What kind of information is included?
- Is it balanced or biased?
- Is the underlying data provided?
- Does the evidence and data provided support the conclusions?
- Are the methods used correct and repeatable?
- Does the work include references (point you to other sources of information)?
- Does the author consider all evidence on the topic or do they choose only the evidence that supports their point of view?
Purpose / Point of View
- Why does the information exist? What is the intent of the site?
- What kind of web site is it: commercial (.com), educational (.edu), government (.gov) or does it come from an organization (.org)?
- Is the information fact or opinion?
- Is the information balanced or biased?
- Are there advertisements on the web site?
