The CRAAP Test

What is the CRAAP Test and why do you need to know  it? (as adapted from this website)
 
As an academic streamed student, you are required to write papers, give presentations, and conduct research.  During this process you will
have to find resources to learn about your topic.  Often times finding
information is not a problem, but determining if the information is credible or
appropriate to use in a graded research paper can be a challenge, especially if  that information is found on the Internet.  It is your responsibility as a student to use accurate and reliable resources in your academic work.  Using  outdated, inaccurate, or unreliable sources may result in a bad grade.  An easy
way to determine if you should use a particular source of information is to apply the CRAAP test.

The CRAAP test is a series of questions listed under five criteria that help you evaluate resources.  The CRAAP acronym comes  from the first letters of each criterion, which are: Current?, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.  Each criterion is important to look at in the  evaluation process so that you can accurately determine if the resource you are  looking at is appropriate to use for a paper or a project.  You can use CRAAP to help you evaluate all types of resources like  books, magazine articles, journal articles, newspapers and websites.

Current:  When was the information posted or published online?  Is the information current or out of date for your topic?  Are the listed links functional?

Relevance: What is the depth/coverage of the information?  Who is the intended audience?

Authority: Who wrote the information and what are their qualifications?  Is there contact information on the website?  What does the URL reveal about the author or the source?

Accuracy: Are  there citations for the information provided on the website so that you can tell  where the information came from? Is the page or the language on the page objective and free of emotion? Are there any spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: What is the purpose of the website? To inform? To teach? To sell? To entertain? To persuade? Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases and are the biases clearly stated on the page?





  

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