One of the most important components of the research process is evaluating the information you have found. Is it reliable and authoritative? Is it relevant to your research question? Is it a scholarly source?

In evaluating information, there are 5 areas to consider:

• Currency:  Is the information current or old?  Does it matter if the information is current or old?  (e.g. research on DIABETES vs. sources on MLK Jr.’s speeches with historical perspectives) – Check copyright date, keeping in mind professor’s date requirements.
• Relevancy:  Is the information really relevant?  (e.g. health hazards of constant acrylic nail use – KW nails? ) – Think through your topic and form solid KWs before searching.
• Authority:  Refers to Author(s) of the resource (Who is responsible for it, and what is  his/her qualification?  Information about their academic degrees, institutional affiliations, etc.  Have they published anything else?  What sources did they use?  Who is the publisher, or is it self-published?  Is there an author in the first place?) – These questions will help determine the CREDIBILITY of the source.
• Accuracy:  Related to Authority (How does the information relate to information in other sources?  Does the author cite other research? Have other scholars cited this work?  If 2 or more sources state the same content, it is fairly credible; Conflicting information – is the author biased, or presenting one-sided viewpoint?)
• Purpose:  What is the purpose of the author’s writing?  Was the piece written to inform?  Persuade?  Teach?  Entertain?  Sell something?  Is there a preface or introduction to identify objectives?  Is it part of scholarly research with easily verifiable facts that can be easily cross-referenced?

                Acronym = CRAAP

Informational pages created by McQuade Librarians that outline strengths and weaknesses of resources found on the web.