Evaluating sources using the C.R.A.P test

Use the C.R.A.P. Evaluation criteria below to evaluate the quality of your source.

• If your source does not satisfy these criteria, you may want to find a different, more credible source

Currency

• When was the source published or updated?
• Is currency of info important for your topic? (Does info change rapidly or frequently?)
• Is older, historical info important for your topic?

Reliability

• Where do the facts or info come from?
• Is content of the resource primarily opinion? Primarily fact? Is  it balanced?
• Can you find citations or lists of references?
• Can you verify any of the info in another source?
• Does the source go through some type of review process before it is published?

Authority

• Is the info from an authoritative source?
• What is considered “authoritative” for your topic?
• Can you determine the author’s or organization’s qualifications, credentials, expertise, affiliations, experience?
• Does the author acknowledge any biases?

Purpose

• Why is this info being published? To inform, teach, sell, entertain, persuade, other? How did you determine this?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Can you determine if the publisher/sponsor has political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?
• For web sources, what is the domain? (.edu, .gov, .com, .org, .net, other?)