ENG 180 & 280: Popular Press

CRAAP test
There are many different criteria that you can use when choosing or evaluating sources. One method is the *CRAAP test. 

Currency
Here, you assess the timeliness of the information. Look for when the resource was created or last updated. You'll also want to ask yourself if you need current information.

Relevance
You should also ask yourself if the information meets your needs. Does it answer your research question?

Authority
This is where you ask who is responsible for the information. Who wrote and published the information? What are the author and publisher's credentials?

Accuracy
You want to use only information that is reliable, truthful and correct. Is the information supported by evidence? Does the author use an unbiased, neutral tone?

Purpose
You should figure out why the information exists. Try to focus on information that is intended to inform, not mislead or persuade. Examine the author's intentions, assumptions and biases.

(*Created by Merriam Library, California State University, Chico.)

Magazines and newspapers are typically published for the general public and are meant to inform or entertain us. Some of these periodicals are general interest and cover a broad range of topics, while others are more specialized. Read the box below to find out more about the characteristics of popular press magazines and newspapers.

Articles that come from a popular press newspaper or magazine typically...

• Use jargon-free language that most people can understand
• Are written for a general audience to inform us about the news or a topic of interest
• Are written by professional journalists and published by for-profit presses
• Contain ads

Web sources are any documents, articles, websites and multimedia sources that are findable through a search engine, like Google. This might seem like a no-brainer. While it's easy to spot a web source when you see one, there are some things you should know when searching the web for research purposes. See the box below for more information.

Anyone can publish on the web. It makes sense, then, that almost anything can be found on the web. Keep in mind...

• Web sources require close evaluation. Try using the CRAAP test on the first page of this guide.
• Google Scholar can help you locate citations for scholarly articles.
• Professional association websites, government sites and education sites contain useful reports, statistics and other information.
• Google only searches a tiny fraction of information published on the web. See the "deep web" sidebar for more details.

The domain is the last part of the main site URL, like .com., .gov, and .net. There are dozens of domain types, each one assigned for a particular use, and some are better than others for research.

In general, the best information for research on the web are .gov and .edu sites. These sites are published by the government and educational institutions that are generally held accountable for the content they post.