Different sources can be particularly hard to evaluate, so use this handy acronym to help you determine if a source may be CRAP.
Currency:
How recently was this information published/posted? Can you find a publication date?
Reliability:
Is the information supported by evidence? Can it be confirmed by other sources?
Authority:
Who wrote the information - are they an expert or knowledgeable in their field? (i.e. For health information, did a doctor or nurse write it?)
Purpose:
Why was it written? To sell something? To sway opinion? Is it biased toward a particular point of view?
"As locating information has become easier, evaluating information has become more difficult" (Brookbank and Christenberry 55).
There is a great deal of information available from several sources both across the open web and within library databases. Just because the information is available does not mean that it is factual or correct. It is often recommended that you search within library databases for sources, as they are "more precise and effective than internet search engines" (Brookbank and Christenberry 55), but you must still evaluate the information that you locate within them. One must take the time to properly evaluate and think critically about what it is that they are looking at. There are many methods, such as the CRAP Test, to help with evaluating information, but these can cause people to only take information at face value. Instead of simply making sure an article or source checks a few boxes, look at the article or source and ask yourself some questions, think critically about what you are looking at. This may take a bit longer however, it will provide a greater return on the investment of your research time.
Instead of looking at the source and wondering what information you can get out of it, ask questions such as “How is this text argued? How is the evidence (the facts, examples, etc.) used and interpreted? How does the text reach its conclusions?"
Asking questions should lead to more questions, this is a good thing. You should always dig deeper. Doing so will make you a better researcher, and it will enable you to find, use, and share credible sources more easily.
Brookbank, Elizabeth, and H. Faye Christenberry. MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature. Modern Language Association of America, 2019.
Knott, Deborah. "Critical Reading Towards Critical Writing." Writing Advice, U of Toronto, advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/critical-reading/.
Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.
Confirmation Bias is "the tendency to seek or favour [sic] new information which supports one’s existing theories or beliefs, while avoiding or rejecting that which disrupts them."
Critical Reading "involves becoming actively engaged in what [you] read by first developing a clear understanding of the author’s ideas, then questioning and evaluating the arguments and evidence provided to support those arguments, and finally by forming [your] own opinions."
Peer Review is "a process by which something proposed (as for research or publication) is evaluated by a group of experts in the appropriate field."
"Confirmation bias, n." OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2019, www.oed.com/view/Entry/38852.
"Peer review, n." Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peer%20review. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.
"What is Critical Reading." Online Writing Center, SUNY Empire State College, www.esc.edu/online-writing-center/resources/critical-reading-writing/general-reading/critical-reading/. Accessed 7 Aug. 2019.
To cite this LibGuide use the following templates:
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