Evaluate Your Sources with the CRAAP Test
Is your information reliable and accurate? Apply the C.R.A.A.P. test!
Currency - The timeliness of the information
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out-of-date for your topic?
- If the source is a webpage are the links functional?
Relevance - The usefulness of the information for your needs
- Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
- Can it help you find other information related to your topic?
- Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?
Authority - The source of the information
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
- If the source is a webpage does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net
Accuracy - The correctness and reliability of the information
- Where does the information come from?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
- Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
- Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose - The reason for the information
- Is the author free from a conflict of interest that would bias what she or he has to say? (i.e. they work for the company on which they are reporting; they have stock in the product they are testing, etc.)
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
- Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
- Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
*Modified version of CRAAP Test created by Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
Evaluating resources in both your work and personal lives is a practical skill. With practice, you can learn to critically evaluate every source and website you come across, quickly and efficiently. There are multiple methods used to evaluate information, and some work better than others, depending on the information.
Read closely. Question sources that contain:
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- Claims that cannot be verified through other means
- Biased or inflammatory language
- Dead or self-referential links
- No information about the author, especially if the corporate author is unknown or untrustworthy.
Evaluate Your Sources with the CRAAP Test
Is your information reliable and accurate? Apply the C.R.A.A.P. test!
Currency - The timeliness of the information
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been revised or updated?
- Is the information current or out-of-date for your topic?
- If the source is a webpage are the links functional?
Relevance - The usefulness of the information for your needs
- Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
- Can it help you find other information related to your topic?
- Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?
Authority - The source of the information
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
- What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
- Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
- If the source is a webpage does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net
Accuracy - The correctness and reliability of the information
- Where does the information come from?
- Is the information supported by evidence?
- Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
- Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
- Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
- Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?
Purpose - The reason for the information
- Is the author free from a conflict of interest that would bias what she or he has to say? (i.e. they work for the company on which they are reporting; they have stock in the product they are testing, etc.)
- Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
- Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
- Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
- Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
*Modified version of CRAAP Test created by Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
The SIFT method is an evaluation strategy developed by digital literacy expert, Mike Caulfield, to help determine whether online content can be trusted for credible or reliable sources of information. All SIFT information on this page is adapted from his materials with a CC BY 4.0 license.
Determining if resources are credible is challenging. Use the SIFT method to help you analyze information, especially news or other online media.
S - Stop
Before you read or share an article or video, STOP!
Be aware of your emotional response to the headline or information in the article. Headlines are often meant to get clicks, and will do so by causing the reader to have a strong emotional response.
Before sharing, consider:
What you already know about the topic.
What you know about the source. Do you know it's reputation?
Before moving forward or sharing, use the other three moves: Investigate the Source, Find Better Coverage, and Trace Claims, Quotes, and Media back to the Original Context.
I - Investigate the Source
The next step before sharing is to Investigate the Source.
Take a moment to look up the author and source publishing the information.
What can you find about the author/website creators?
What is their mission? Do they have vested interests? Would their assessment be biased?
Do they have authority in the area?
Use lateral reading. Go beyond the 'About Us' section on the organization's website and see what other, trusted sources say about the source. You can use Google or Wikipedia to investigate the source.
Hovering is another technique to learn more about who is sharing information, especially on social media platforms such as Twitter.
The Standford Experiment
Need Assistance? We are happy to help! Please contact Your Librarian :
Michele Matucheski, MLIS, AHIP
Medical Librarian - Ascension Wisconsin
Phone (920) 223-0340
Email Michele.Matucheski@ascension.org
Available Monday - Friday
Evaluating Information from a Citation
First, make sure you are looking at the most detailed version of the citation/ abstract that is available to you.
Then mine for specifics:
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Author. Can you determine the author’s affiliation or credentials? Is the author from a university or research organization?
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Publication date. When was this published? Is currency important for your topic?
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Length. How long is the article? 2-3 pages does not provide in-depth coverage and is not likely to be a peer-reviewed, research article.
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Abstract. Is there an abstract? Reading an abstract takes much less time than skimming the whole article – use it to help decide if this article will be useful!
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Peer-review. Is the article from a peer-reviewed (sometimes called “refereed”) journal?
Sample article record from one of the library databases:
In this case, the authors are listed, but this citation does not include author affiliations (other databases would include this).
The article was published in June 2007; and the article is 6 pages long. Since this article is about the History of Headaches, currency may not be as important as if you were looking for current treatments of headaches.
This particular database lists this journal as being peer-reviewed. To ensure that the journal is peer-reviewed, you can read more about it on the journal publisher’s website.
This citation includes MEDLINE info such as a PMID and NLM UID. The National Library of Medicine has a stringent inclusion/exclusion policy for which journals get indexed in Medline, and which ones don't make the cut in the field of Medicine. It's a sign of quality to see a PMID, but it doesn't mean it's peer-reviewed.