The CRAAP Test is a checklist of sorts to assist researchers with evaluating websites; however, this checklist works for any source including journal articles and books. It is also vital to use to help stop the spread of misinformation in all of its various forms.
As you can see in the navigation, CRAAP stands for the five most important parts of source evaluation: Currency, Relevancy, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Many of these can blend together at times, such as when assessing the authority and purpose of a website, but they can also stand alone and offer their own insights into a source's usefulness.
It is also important to remember that not all of the five elements of the CRAAP Test are equal and that their importance can change depending on the field and type of research you are conducting. The most common trap for new and experienced researchers is using a website that looks modern over one that looks outdated which is referring to the Currency. Just because it looks good doesn't mean it is trustworthy.
If there are two elements that stand out as the most important of the five it would be Authority and Purpose. The reason a source exists starts off with a purpose or a thesis. Why did this source get published? Why was it written? The answer to these questions of Purpose requires researchers to look at the Authority or authors behind the source. The other three elements of the CRAAP Test can be misleading if used on their own. A source can appear accurate and relevant to your research while also being published recently and look current and modern, but if the author and their purpose is to mislead or discredit someone or an idea, then these other three matter little in terms of source evaluation.
The Beal University Library recommends going through this guide and learning about all five elements of the CRAAP Test and then applying it not only to websites, but to any resource you plan on using in your research. The goal is to eliminate those less than trustworthy sources and replace them with better more appropriate sources that will give you a better research paper.
The Internet is a wonderful thing; however, it can be tricky evaluating how good the information is. Finding information is the easy part. Evaluating the accuracy, quality, objectivity, and currency of the information is the tricky part. You can find any "fact" you want on the Internet. (There is even a webpage dedicated to proving that Earth is flat!)
Learning how to evaluate the information you come across is just as important as learning how to find information. So when you are asked to research a topic for class you can't just simply Google it and submit the top results as fact. See if the information, no matter where you find it, will hold up to the CRAAP test (sometimes spelt CRAP Test too).
Questions to ask when evaluating Currency in websites:
1. Are you able to tell when the page was created? When was the page last updated?
2. Are there dead links in sprinkled around the website?
3. How critical is it that you have the most up to date information for your research topic?
4. If the website is using some sort of data, when were the data collected?
How to find Currency in websites:
1. Look at the top and bottom of the webpage to find a published date or a last updated date. The copyright date may not be indicative of the currency of the article.
2. If the webpage has dead links, then that means the page is not updated regularly.
3. Take a look at any tables or charts that are on the webpage and see what dates they collected the data.
4. Currency for your topic may not be as critical to one topic as it might to to another. For example, if you are you researching the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea you would want the most up to date news reports and data. If your topic is the Cuban Missle Crisis of 1962 it might be alright if some of your sources are over ten years old. \
Print Currency
Questions to ask when evaluating Currency in printed material:
1. When was the item published?
2. Does it have a newer edition?
3. How important is it to have the latest information about the topic you are researching?
How to find Currency in printed material:
1. Books will have all of the dates of publication and editions on the back of the title page.
2. Journals and magazines will have the date it was published on the front cover or spine. Although sometimes you have to look at the table of contents to find the dates.
3. Gauging the importance of Currency when researching is very important. Some topics can should only have the most recent information while other topics can have seemingly dated materials. For example, researching the latest treatment methods for a particular illness over the last five years is a pretty good timeframe. However, if you want to research the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 you might want to broaden that timeframe to the last twenty years.
Questions to ask when evaluating Relevance in websites:
1. Is the information on the website relevant and useful to your topic?
2. Does the website answer all, or just some, of the questions you have about your topic?
3. What does the website not answer about your topic? Do you still have gaps of information you need to fill?
4. Is the information on the webstie too broad or too narrow for your research?
How to find Relevance in websites:
1. The only real way to decide if the a website is relevant or not to your topic is to read through it. If it seems to answer the questions you have about your topic, it might be a good source for you to use for your assignment.
2. REMEMBER: just because the website is relevant to your topic does not make it a good source to use.
Questions to ask when evaluating Relevance in print:
1. Does the item answer all, or just some, of your questions about the topic?
2. What questions does the article or book not answer about your topic?
3. Is this an encyclopedia or something scholarly?
4. Is the information in the article too broad or too narrow to be helpful in your research?
How to find Relevance in print:
1. If it is an article read the abstract. The abstract will tell you if the article is going to talk about the topic you are researching. Sometimes titles can be misleading.
2. Encyclopedias might be quite relevant for your topic, but you should not use encyclopedias for your research. Think of enclyopedias as a great starting point for your research.
3. If the item is too broad or too narrow, you are likely on the correct path but keep refining your search.
1. Who is the creator or author of the website?
2. What credentials do they have for writing on this subject?
3. Who is publisher or sponsor of the website? Are they an authority on the issue?
4. Does the publisher have any financial interest in publishing this information?
5. Are there advertisements on the website? What are they for?
6. Is the website a .com, .net. .org, .gov? Do you know the difference?
How to find Authority in websites:
1. .edu, and .gov are typically more authoritative than .com or .org
2. Click the "About" section on the webpage. Does it say anything about the author's education or experience with the topic?
3. If there are advertisements on the website what are they trying to sell you? Are the products related to the topic of the website? There is bias if you are researching ADHD in college students and all the advertisements are for a prescription drug for treating ADHD.
4. A good website will give you information about the author(s) and what their credentials are.
5. A quality website will give out contact information for the authors and contributors. Or even just how to contact the people who manage the website.
Questions to ask when evaluating Authority in print:
1. Who is the author of the article or book?
2. What are the creditials or qualifications of the author of the book or article?
3. Is the author associated with a univeristy at the time the material was printed? If it is an organization, are they well known as a scholarly authority on the topic?
4. Is there contact information for the author(s)?
5. Would this be considered a scholarly source?
6. Are there advertisments in the publication? If so, are they for products discussed in the article?
7. Are you able to tell how the author gets their research funding?
How to find Authority in print:
1. The begining of each journal article there should be a small academic biography of the author(s).
2. There should be something about the author(s) in the beginning of the book that tells you who they are and what their research has been in.
3. Even if the source does not give you a direct email for the author(s) it should tell you what university or organization they work for. Through that website you could find contact information.
4. If there are advertisments for products discussed in the article then it should be a red-flag.
5. Finding out who funds the author's research can be a little tricky. You might have to dig around their website, email the author, and even email the publisher for that information. If you have questions come see a librarian.
Questions to ask when evaluating Accuracy in websites:
1. After reading through the content of the website, does what you read seem to align with what you may already know about the topic?
2. Are there other sources who make the same claims and statements?
3. Does the information on the website seem to good to be true? Is it telling you what you want to hear vs. what is accurate?
4. Does the website give proper citations?
How to find Accuracy in websites:
1. Take a moment and compare the claims and statements of the website to the other research you've done. Does it contradict your other sources?
2. Can you find two or three other credible sources who make the same claims?
3. Look to the bottom of the page, are there references associated with the text of the website?
4. Sometimes websites will just tell you what you, the viewer, wants to hear. A fitness website will have two things going against it: a). It wants to sell you some sort of product. b). It will tell you how their product makes being thin really easy.
Questions to Ask When Evaluating for Accuracy in Print:
1. Does the concluions the article or book align with the conclusions other research you have been reading?
2. Can you tell if the article is mostly opinion?
3. Does the author effectivly use citations to support their conclusions or findings?
How to Find Accuracy in Websites:
1. Can you find at least two or three other sources which come to the same conclusions?
2. Opinions are diffierent than bias. If the text is purely someone's opinion they will not use any citations.
3. If the author uses citations effectivly there will be a reference list at the end of the article or back of the book. Don't just assume that the citations are real. If you have questions about the validity of the citations you can always look them up yourself. If the citations don't seem to exist then that should be a big red flag.
Questions to ask when evaluating POV/Purpose in Websites:
1. Is the webpage mostly opinions and not factual? Or is it opinion based in fact? (Big difference!!)
2. Does the publisher of the website have an agenda? Can you tell if that agenda creates a bias for the website?
3. Are they trying to sell you something?
4. Who is the audience that this website is written for?
How to find POV/Purpose in websites:
1. The structure and format of the website should tell you a lot. It is a big red flag if the website has to emphasize their main points by using bold text or increasing the font size.
2. Using the "About" section of the website is very useful. If the website is an organization, you can read their mission statement to easily find their agenda.
3. If the site asks you to purchase information or a product this is the website's agenda. Vendors will say most anything in order to convince you to purchase their product.
4. Gaging audience is very important when evaluating a source. How a website will write for the common person is quite different than the way they would write for an audience with an expertise in the field. Sometimes using sources that are too technical may be too difficult to understand while using sources that are written for the common person aren't scholarly enough. Find your comfort level.
5. There is a big difference between pieces that have opinions which are based in fact and sources that are based not at all in fact. If the source gives you opinions AND gives you references as to why the author came to that conclusion then it might be a good source.
Questions to ask when evaluating POV/Purpose in Print:
1. Who is the audience? What can the audience tell you about the bias or point-of-view?
2. Who is the publisher of the book or article? Does the publisher have a bias or agenda that they are trying to convey?
3. Does the author(s) offer abundant citations as evidence for their conclusions?
4. Are they trying to sell you something?
How to find POV/Purpose in Print:
1. There is strong bias if there are advertisements next to the article for the product being discussed in the article.
2. If the article or book is published by an organization you can always look them up online. The organization will most likely have their web address printed somewhere in the article or book.
3. If there are citations offered as evidence you might want to see if they are just quoting themselves or are they quoting a wide variety of people in that particular field of study.
4. Often you are able to tell POV when the author or organization is funded by an industry.
.com:
This is used for commercial websites. These sites are trying to sell you something.
.edu:
Used only for educational organizations or businesses.
.net:
Was originally used for network operators but was never truly regulated. Now, often used as an alternative for .com.
.org:
Typically non-profit groups who aren't educational institutions or commercial ventures.
.gov:
Used for the departments and offices of the United States Federal government.
Country codes:
Used as abbreviations for countries. Like, .de for Germany, and .us for the United States. Although many country codes are used in an official manner some smaller countries have sold their code for commercial purposes. .tv was sold by the multi-island nation of Tuvalu.
Thanks to Franklin Pierce University