Assess your Information & Sources

Does that information belong in your research paper or is it C.R.A.P.?

 Currency

• How recent is the information?
• When was it published? If a website. How recently has the website been updated?
• Is it current enough for your topic? Explain.

Reliability

• What kind of information is included in the resource?
• Is content of the resource primarily opinion?  Is it balanced?
• Does it include references or sources for data, claims, and quotations? Explain.

Authority

• Who is the author or creator?
• What are their credentials?
• Who is the publisher or sponsor?
• What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?

Purpose/Point of View

• Is the source: Informative? Opinion? Entertainment? 
• What is its point of view?
• Is the creator/author trying to sell you something? Does it have ads? 

You can use this source checklist to evaluate the relevance and authority of your sources.

How would you assess the reliability of this article?