Evaluating information is a critical part of the research process and is a valuable skill that will help you in everyday use of information.
Developing this skill now will help you long after you have graduated. |
Evaluating that information through questioning its authority, relevance, and timeliness
Authority
Who is responsible for writing the material? What are their credentials?
Relevance
How does this information relate to my topic? Will it help me to make a point?
Timeliness
Was the information researched and written at a time apporpriate to your topic?
The CRAAP Test is a common checklist used to evaluate an information resource.
Currency: The timeliness of the web page.
Relevance: The uniqueness of the content and its importance for your needs.
Authority: The source of the web page.
Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the informational content.
Purpose: The presence of bias or prejudice/The reason the web site exists.
The CRAAP Test was created by Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
After clicking "About" link from home page, the following information describes who is the author of this website:
Take a look at the address or URL. Do you know what the domain names are for websites? Here are the ones you will see most often.
.com = commercial
.org = organization
.net = network
.gov = government
.edu = education
From: http://wssu.libguides.com/content.php?pid=16220
If the articles you find do not cite sources or if you want to verify information, try some of these fact checking websites:
Poynter Online "Extensive list of websites for journalists to discover facts about political candidates and a diverse array of respectable government and political websites".