Ask yourself:

Does this information belong in my academic project or is it .... CRAAP?

 Currency: The timeliness of the information.

• When was the information published or posted?  
• Has the information been revised or updated?  
• Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?  
• If a website, are the links functional?

Relevance: The importance 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?  
• Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?  

Authority: The source of the information.

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?  
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?  
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic?  
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?  
• If on the web, does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net  

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content. 

• 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 typographical errors?  

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?  
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?  
• Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?  
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?  
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

How can we decide what information we want to use in composing our argument on a science issue in an essay? You can consider the audience! 

For example, check out the three articles below, from different magazine-type publications, on humans' sense of smell. Even though they are on the same human sense (and two articles are on the same study), they take very different approaches!

Assess your Sources

Maybe it was easy to find, but is it good? 

How do you know if your information is reliable?  

Ask questions about all your information sources. The web, in particular, is a great tool for finding local or obscure information, but you can end up with incorrect, outdated and irrelevant information if you are not careful.

You can download a copy of the CRAAP test to assess the appropriateness of each of your sources.