craap test essay example

Extended Essay: Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test

• Extended Essay- The Basics
• Step 1. Choose a Subject
• Step 2. Educate yourself!
• Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
• Identify Keywords
• Do Background Reading
• Define Your Topic
• Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
• Step 5. Draft a Research Question
• Step 6. Create a Timeline
• Find Articles
• Find Primary Sources
• Get Help from Experts
• Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
• Databases and Websites by Subject Area
• Create an Annotated Bibliography
• Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
• Chicago Citation Syle
• MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
• Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
• Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
• Conducting Secondary Research
• Conducting Primary Research
• Formal vs. Informal Writing
• Presentation Requirements
• Evaluating Your Work

The Research Process

The  CRAAP Test was developed by the Meriam Library at California State University, Chico to help you evaluate the information you find.  It is a list of questions that help you determine if the sources you found are accurate and reliable.  Keep in mind that this list is not static or complete. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

On this page you can:

Read  the list of questions in the CRAAP test  (to the right)

Watch the video below about  evaluating websites (using the CAPOW  test!)

See other pages in this section with more detail on the CRAAP test questions:

Currency: The timeliness of the information Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs Authority: The source of the information Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content Purpose: The reason the information exists

CAPOW - How to Evaluate a Website

The craap test, c urrency : the timeliness of the information.

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the source been revised or updated?
• Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?
• (If you are using the Web:) 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 the 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 this topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
• (If you are using the Web:) Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source ?  Examples:  .com, .edu, .gov, .org, .net
• Is there contact information for author/ publisher/ sponsor?

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?

Download a copy of the C.R.A.A.P. test here:

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Writing & Citation Guide

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• Helpful Writing and Citation Tools
• The C.R.A.A.P Test (How to vet your sources)
• Use Your Words: Paraphrasing, Direct Quotes, and Summarizing

CRAAP: Evaluating Your Sources

What is CRAAP?

The CRAAP Test is a way to evaluate (vet) your sources to make sure you are using the most accurate and up to date information for your research. The world is full of information, and it can overwhelm a researcher, using the CRAAP test to see if the information is rightly valuable is the mark of a good scholar.

C urrency : the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• 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 using this source for a research paper?

Authority : the source of the information

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?
• examples: .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government), .org (nonprofit organization), or .net (network)

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

• 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 biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose : the reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
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• Last Updated: Sep 8, 2022 8:29 AM
• URL: https://libguides.rbc.edu/citation_guide

Evaluating Sources

Craap analysis.

One excellent tool to examine both the suitability and trustworthiness of a source is the CRAAP method, which stands for:

• C urrency: the timeliness of the information
• R elevance: the importance of the information for your needs
• A uthority: the source of the information
• A ccuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the information
• P urpose: the reason the information exists

The following video offers a good explanation of these points of analysis.

Currency: The Timeliness of the Information

Determining when an item of information was published or produced is an aspect of evaluating information. The date the information was published or produced tells you how current it is or how relevant it is to the topic you are researching. For example, if you were writing a research paper on the survival of passengers in car crashes, you would need the most recent information on automobile crash tests, structural strength of materials, car wreck mortality statistics, etc. If, on the other hand, you were writing a research paper on the feelings of college students about the Vietnam War during the1960s, you would need information written in the 1960s by college students (primary sources) as well as materials written since then about college students in the 1960s (secondary sources). Key indicators of the currency of the information are:

• date of copyright
• date of publication
• date of revision or edition
• dates of sources cited
• date of patent or trademark

Relevance: The Importance of the Information for Your Needs

When you read through your source, consider how the source will effectively support your argument and how you can use the source in your research essay. You should also consider whether the source provides sufficient coverage of the topic. Information sources with broad, shallow coverage mean that you need to find other sources of information to obtain adequate details about your topic. Information sources with a very narrow focus or a distinct bias mean that you need to find additional sources to obtain the information on other aspects of your topic. Some questions to consider are:

• Does the information relate to my topic, research question, or angle in my working thesis?
• Who is the source’s intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (e.g., not too simple or advanced) for my needs?
• Did I look at a variety of sources before deciding to use this one?

Authority: The Source of the Information

Determining the knowledge and expertise of the author is an important aspect of evaluating the reliability of information. Anyone can make an assertion or a statement about some thing, event, or idea, but only someone who knows or understands what that thing, event, or idea is can make a reasonably reliable assertion about it. Some external indications of expertise are:

• a formal academic degree in a subject area
• professional or work-related experience, e.g., businessmen, government agency personnel, sports figures, etc. have expertise in their areas of work
• active involvement in a subject or organization by serious amateurs who spend substantial amounts of personal time researching and studying that subject area
• organizations, agencies, institutions, corporations with active involvement or work in a particular subject area.

Accuracy: The Reliability, Truthfulness, and Correctness of the Information

Establishing the accuracy, or relative accuracy, of information is an important part of evaluating the reliability of information. It is easier to establish the accuracy of facts than it is opinions, interpretations, or ideas. The more an idea, opinion, or other piece of information varies from the accepted point of view on a particular topic, the harder it is to establish its accuracy. An important aspect of accuracy is the intellectual integrity of the item:

• Are the sources appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references?
• Are quotations cited correctly and in context? Out-of-context quotations can be misleading and sometimes completely erroneous.
• Are there exaggerations, omissions, or errors? These are difficulty to identify if you use only one source of information, so always use several different sources of information. Analyzing what different sources say about a topic is one way to determine exaggerations, omissions, and errors.

In addition to errors of fact and integrity, you need to watch for errors of logic. Errors of logic occur primarily in the presentation of conclusions, opinions, interpretations, editorials, ideas, etc. Some indications that information is accurate are:

• the same information can be found in other reliable sources
• the experiment can be replicated and returns the same results
• the documentation provided in support of the information is substantive
• the sources used for documentation are generally reliable
• the author of the information is known to have expertise on that subject
• the presentation is free from logical fallacies or errors
• quotations are “in context” so that the intended meaning of the information quoted is retained
• quotations, paraphrases, and summaries are correctly cited

Some indications that information may not be accurate are:

• facts cannot be verified or are contradicted in other sources
• sources used are known to be unreliable or highly biased
• bibliography of sources used is inadequate or non-existent
• quotations are taken out of context and given a different meaning
• presence of one or more logical fallacies
• authority cited is another part of the same organization

Purpose: The Reason the Information Exists

Identifying the intended audience of the information and identifying the author’s purpose are other important aspects of evaluating information. The intended audience of an item generally determines the style of presentation, the level of technical detail, and the depth of coverage. Determining the intended audience of a particular piece of information will help you decide whether or not the information is too basic, too technical, too general, or just right for your needs. The intended audience can also indicate the potential reliability of the item because some audiences require more documentation than others. For example, items produced for scholarly or professional audiences are generally produced by experts and go through a peer review process. Items produced for the mass market frequently are not produced by experts and generally do not go through an evaluation process. Some indications of the intended audience are:

• highly technical language, complex analysis, very sophisticated/technical tools can indicate a technical, professional, or scholarly audience
• how-to information or current practices in “X” are frequently written by experts for practitioners in that field
• substantive and serious presentations of a topic with not too much technical language are generally written for the educated lay audience
• popular language, fairly simple presentations of a topic, with little or no analysis, can indicate a general or popular audience
• bibliographies, especially long bibliographies, are generally compiled by and for those doing research on that topic

You should also consider the author’s purpose. Is the information intended to inform or persuade? Does the author intend to present a bias? While it is unlikely that anything humans do is ever absolutely objective, it is important to establish that the information you intend to use is reasonably objective, or if it is not, to establish exactly what the point of view or bias is. There are times when information expressing a particular point of view or bias is useful, but you must use it consciously. You must know what the point of view is and why that point of view is important to your project.

The CRAAP Test

Review the steps of the CRAAP method and practice evaluating sources in this tutorial from Eastern Michigan University.

Be sure to complete the practice exercises at the end of the tutorial. (You may also access the tutorial and activity in a  text format .)

• CRAAP Analysis. Revision and adaptation of the page CRAAP Analysis at https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/video-evaluating-sources/ which is a revision and adaptation of the sources listed below. Authored by : Susan Oaks. Provided by : Empire State College, SUNY OER Services. Project : College Writing. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• CRAAP Analysis. Provided by : Lumen Learning. Located at : https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-englishcomposition1/chapter/video-evaluating-sources/ . Project : English Composition I. License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Evaluating Sources. Provided by : Virginia Tech. Located at : https://guides.lib.vt.edu/RLCL1004/eval . Project : University Libraries Information Skills Modules. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Evaluating Information. Provided by : The University of Rhode Island. Located at : http://uri.libguides.com/start/craap . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• CRAAP Tutorial. Authored by : Bill Marino. Provided by : Eastern Michigan University. Located at : http://www.emich.edu/library/help/reliability/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• video Evaluating Information using the CRAAP Test. Authored by : jwdenver. Provided by : Johnson & Wales University. Located at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAWhE0mj69I . License : Other . License Terms : Standard YouTube License

Evaluating Sources

• Evaluate Source - SIFT

Short Videos to Help You to Critically Evaluate Sources

• Evaluating Sources - Worksheet
• In-Class Exercise

• Evaluate Sources Using CRAAP Test
• Evaluating Sources for Credibility
• Format Matters
• Credibility is contextual

The CRAAP test is one technique to help you in evaluating sources and determining whether you should use them in your research assignments.

CRAAP stands for: C urrency, R elevance, A uthority, A ccuracy, P urpose

The short video below walks you though the parts of the CRAAP test and provides you with examples of criteria for each part of the CRAAP test.

The short video below helps you determine whether a source is credible (i.e., high quality, trustworthy, and believable) and touches on criteria that are not readily apparent in the CRAAP test.

Using credible sources is key to your success on academic research project because high quality sources make your project high quality!

Sources of information come in many different formats - from books, newspapers, academic articles to blogs, tweets, and memes. These sources differ in terms of the process of how they are created. This process can impact whether and how you might use a source in your academic research project.

The short video below helps you better understand these processes and explores when using different formats of information might be appropriate.

This short video guides you in finding credible sources for research projects, and explains why some sources are more credible than others.

• << Previous: Evaluate Source - SIFT
• Next: Evaluating Sources - Worksheet >>
• Last updated: Aug 29, 2022 11:07 AM
• URL: https://libguides.asu.edu/evaluate

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How to Evaluate Information Sources

• Fake News and Fact Checking
• Evaluating Research Articles
• Is it Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed) or Popular?
• Identify Bias

Need help? Ask a librarian

Quick Guide

Apply the CRAAP Test

Use the CRAAP Worksheet developed at the University of Illinois to walk through the CRAAP Test steps.

Currency : the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• 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 using this source for a research paper?

Authority : the source of the information

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?  Can they be verified?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

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 biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose : the reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Follow the money.  Who stands to gain from this?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
• What clues does the format give to the purpose, audience, quality?

Note: the CRAAP test was developed by librarians at CSU Chico.

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4.6: The CRAAP Test

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• Rob Drummond, Liz Delf, Kristy Kelly, & Shane Abrams
• Oregon State University

If there’s no such thing as an inherently “good” or “bad” source, how do we determine if a source is right for our purposes? As you sift through sources, you should consider credibility and use value to determine whether a source is right for you. Credibility refers to the reliability and accuracy of the author, their writing, and the publisher. Use value is a broad term that includes whether you should use a text in your research paper as well as how you will use that text.

The CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test will help you explore both credibility and use value, and it’s especially useful when evaluating sources that you are carefully considering for use in a paper. In chapter 23, Mike Caulfield offers a faster set of strategies for determining the validity of information you find in your day-to-day life online.

Even though you’re making efforts to keep an open mind to different positions, it is likely that you’ve already formed some opinions about your topic. As you review each source, try to read both with and against the grain; in other words, try to position yourself at least once as a doubter and at least once as a believer.

Regardless of what the source actually has to say, you should (1) try to take the argument on its own terms and try to appreciate or understand it and (2) be critical of it, looking for its blind spots and problems. This is especially important when we encounter texts we really like or really dislike—we need to challenge our early perceptions to interrupt projection.

The original chapter, Interacting with Sources by Shane Abrams, is from EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology and Handbook for College Writers

Discussion Questions

• When would the CRAAP Test be most useful, and when would it not? Can you imagine yourself using it to, say, evaluate a video online? Why or why not? Is it still a useful set of guidelines, even if we wouldn’t use it in all cases?
• What other rules have you been taught for evaluating sources? Talk about these with a peer or instructor. Which rules hold up, and which are myths?
• Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate a source, step by step. What did this process help you notice?

The CRAAP Test by Shane Abrams; Liz Delf; Rob Drummond; and Kristy Kelly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

• MJC Library & Learning Center
• Research Guides

Evaluate Your Sources

• C is for Currency
• R is for Relevance
• A is for Authority
• A is for Accuracy
• P is for Purpose
• Fake News: Facts & Issues
• The SIFT Method: Quick Source & Claim Checking
• "Lateral Reading" - Consult Other Sources!
• Tools to Use for Lateral Reading

Finding information today is easy; it's all around you. Making sure the information you find is reliable can be a challenge.

When you use Google or any social media to get your information how do you know it can be trusted? How do you know it's not biased?

You can feel pretty confident that books you get from the library and articles you find in the library's databases are reliable because someone or some group has checked all the facts and arguments the author made before publishing them. You still have to think about whether or not the book or article is current and suitable for your project but you can feel confident that it is a trustworthy source.

Make sure  each and every source you plan on using in your paper or research assignment passes the CRAAP test .

Watch the brief video below to see how this works.

• Next: C is for Currency >>
• Last Updated: Feb 27, 2024 3:15 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mjc.edu/CRAAP

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

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Evaluate What You Find With the “CRAAP Test”

Watch it: craap test.

Watch Chapter 8 video 2 (3 minutes) on YouTube about how to apply the CRAAP test and then read the text below.

Video source: Toronto Metropolitan University DMP. (2018, July 10).  Chapter 8 video 2   [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q9b9exH0lBk

Sources to evaluate in the Video:

• Consider this a good starting point and look at the sources below for more information.
• Select “Author”, “Author – Main Publications”
• This article is not peer reviewed; consider why.
• This article is peer reviewed. Why?
• Look at the conflict of interest note at the beginning.

Evaluating your sources is critical to the academic research process. The CRAAP test allows you analyze your sources and determine whether they are appropriate for your research or just plain crap! The CRAAP test uses a series of questions that address specific evaluation criteria like the authority and purpose of the source. You should use this test for all your sources. Note: it is not intended to make you exclude other, less authoritative sources, but to help you analyze how you intend to use them to support your arguments.

C = 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?

R = 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?

A = Authority : The source of the information.

• What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic? Do you trust the author?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net

A = 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?

P = 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?

In this unit, you learned about the differences between scholarly and popular sources, how to evaluate them using the CRAAP test, and how this information can help you succeed in your career.

Attribution & References

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter (video & Text) is adapted from “ Evaluate What You Find With the “CRAAP Test” ” In  Write Here, Right Now: An Interactive Introduction to Academic Writing and Research by Aaaron Tucker, Paul Chafe, and Ryerson University, licensed under CC BY 4.0 . Adapted for clarity of writing and punctuation.

English for Degree Entrance (EDE) Copyright © by Carrie Molinski and Sue Slessor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test

• CRAAP Test Alternatives
• Evaluating Books
• Evaluating Journal Articles
• Evaluating Websites
• Evaluating Images
• How to Avoid Fake News This link opens in a new window

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What is the CRAAP Test?

CRAAP is an acronym for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Use the CRAAP Test to evaluate your sources.

Currency : the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• 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 using this source for a research paper?

Authority : the source of the information

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government)
• .org (nonprofit organization), or
• .net (network)

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 biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose : the reason the information exists

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

Evaluation Materials

• CRAAP Test: Slide Presentation
• CRAAP Evaluation Checklist
• Evaluating Sources Checklist
• Next: CRAAP Test Alternatives >>
• Last Updated: Jun 26, 2023 12:04 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.ben.edu/source-evaluation

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Source Evaluation: CRAAP Test

What is the craap test.

Due to the vast number of sources existing online, it can be difficult to tell whether some sources are trustworthy to use as tools for research. The CRAAP test contains a series of questions that helps students and educators determine if sources are trustworthy and appropriate for academic research. CRAAP is an acronym for Currency , Relevance , Authority , Accuracy , and Purpose .  By employing the CRAAP test while evaluating sources, a researcher reduces the likelihood of using unreliable information.  Please keep in mind that the following questions are not static nor exhaustive. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

If you have additional questions, ask a librarian for help !

Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test

• When was the information published or posted?
• When was the information last revised or updated? (online this is often found in the footer area)
• Is the published date appropriate in relation to your research topic? Are you doing current or historical research?
• Is this the most current information available on your topic?
• If reviewing a web source, are the links functional or are they broken?
• What is the depth of coverage? Does it cover all important context?
• Is the information unique? Is it available elsewhere, or referencing another source?
• Who is the intended audience? Is the information at the appropriate level for your research or does it target a different type of audience?
• Is it scholarly or popular material? 
• Does it fulfill all your assignment requirements? 
• Who is the author, creator, or sponsor of the information?
• What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
• Is contact information available, such as an email address?
• Is the source reputable? Does the author have a reputation? Google them!
• Has the author published works in traditional formats, or only online?
• If searching online, what does the domain name/URL reveal about the source? Websites that end with .com are commercial websites (usually selling something). Websites with .edu are educational. Websites with .gov are official government websites. Websites with .org are organizations, commonly used for schools and non-profits. Don't accept .org websites at face value, be sure to check out the "About" section since for-profit entities also use them.
• Where does the information come from? Are there sources listed? Did the author provide a references list or bibliography?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Are the sources trustworthy and credible?
• Can you verify the information from independent sources? Corroborate!
• Are there spelling, grammar, factual, or other typographical errors?
• What is the purpose of the information? To Inform? Teach? Persuade? Sell? Entertain?
• Does the language or tone seem biased?
• Does the point of view appear objective, impartial, and considering multiple perspectives?
• Is the information based on facts, opinion, or propaganda?
• Does the site provide information or does it attempt to debunk other information? (Weighing positive evidence versus negative evidence)
• Is the website free of advertising? 
• Does the organization appear to support or sponsor the page? Is there a conflict of interest?

Adapted from  Blakeslee, Sarah (2004) "The CRAAP Test,"  LOEX Quarterly, 31 (3).   Available at: http://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/ vol31/iss3/4

• Last Updated: Feb 2, 2022 8:16 AM
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Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, the craap test –  currency, relevance, authority, accuracy, purpose.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

Learn about the critical perspectives that educated, critical, audiences use to analyze the credibility and reliability of information : C urrency , R elevance , A uthority , A ccuracy ,  and  P urpose.  

The CRAAP Test refers to the acronym “CRAAP” – C urrency , R elevance , A uthority , A ccuracy , and P urpose (Blakeslee 2004).

Educated, literate audiences consider the C urrency , R elevance , A uthority , A ccuracy , and P urpose of information when trying to evaluate its credibility and reliability.

Why Does the CRAAP Test Matter?

The CRAAP Test is a crucial tool for evaluating the reliability and credibility of information sources.

In an age where information is abundant and varied, distinguishing between trustworthy and unreliable sources is essential. The test provides a structured approach to scrutinize sources using specific evaluative criteria—Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. This ensures that the information used in research, academic work, or decision-making is accurate, relevant, and from a reputable source.

By employing the CRAAP Test, knowledge workers can develop critical thinking skills, enhance the quality of their work, and make informed decisions based on reliable information.

What is Currency?

In the CRAAP evaluation framework, “currency” highlights the necessity for writers to present information that is current and relevant to their specific field or community. As ideas and research continually evolve, it’s vital for writers to ensure their work reflects the latest findings and discussions.

Presenting outdated or debunked concepts, particularly in educational or professional settings, risks being perceived as condescending, unengaging, or unprofessional by readers like students or clients. Effective communication demands that writers stay updated and avoid rehashing discredited ideas that could be easily refuted with a quick 30 second Google search.

What is Relevance?

The relevancy of a cited source relates to how well the source you have selected meets your information need.

Relevancy, when applied to quoted or paraphrased text, means that the point you are trying to make within the context of your text is directly supported by the text you have chosen to quote or  paraphrase .

Judging the relevancy of a source can be trickier than you might think. If the source you desire to cite is very broad in its scope, ask yourself if the conclusions drawn in the article can be easily applied to your thesis statement. For example, a journal article concerning the frequency of cigarette smoking among men between the ages of 18 and 24 in the United States could apply to a paper about the percentage of young men on your college campus who smoke. On the other hand, articles that are very narrow in scope could be relevant if you are able to generalize its conclusions and apply them to your research topic. For example, a journal article about the effects that violent video games have on the ability of seven-year-old males to form healthy peer relationships with female students at school could be applied to a research paper about the generalized effects of playing violent video games on children.

There are other questions you should ask yourself when considering the relevancy of a potential source. These include:

• Who is the  intended audience  of the source?
• Have you distinguished between  popular vs. scholarly sources
• Does the source support your claim?

What is Authority?

In writing and speech,  authority  refers to the degree to which a  writer  or speaker’s  text  seems plausible,  substantive . In most academic writing and workplace writing, writers and speakers aim to create a persona , voice , and tone that is authoritative. In other words, they want their audiences to believe what they have to say. To achieve that goal, they are likely to engage in rhetorical analysis to determine the sources and research methods their target audiences are likely to consider authoritative.

To learn more about how to assess authority, see Authority (in Writing & Speech)

What is Accuracy?

Information from unreliable sources is not always true, up-to-date, or accurate. Using unreliable sources weaken the credibility of the writer, dilute the writer’s argument, and detract from the overall strength of the text.

While the Internet provides a plethora of information on almost any topic imaginable, not all of its content can be trusted. Students should be cautiously selective while doing research and avoid sources that may contain unreliable information:

• Popular and collective websites (ask.com,  about.com ,  WebMD.com , etc.):   Websites such as these provide articles and information that has been collected from other sources that may not be reliable. While the sponsors of these sites usually employ writers who research the topics, citations for the sources of the data are not always provided.
• Wikipedia :   Wikipedia is an online open-source encyclopedia, which means that it can be edited by anyone. While the information on the site is audited by a Wikipedia editor, the information found there may or may not be correct or current.
• Source material based solely on opinion:   While material that conveys opinions and beliefs may have some validity, reliable sources that back up the opinion or belief with facts and trustworthy information should also be sought. If the opinion piece does not include data from reliable sources, a writer may choose not to include it as a source.

Note : Some sources, such as Wikipedia, provide a works cited list or reference list. Some of the cited works may be reliable. To confirm the validity of a knowledge claim, check the original source and interpret the information yourself.

What is Purpose?

Purpose refer to the aim of discourse — i.e. why the writer or speaker communicating.

Where Are Credible, Reliable Sources Found?

• Academic databases : These databases, such as  Academic Search Premier  and  JSTOR , include searchable collections of scholarly works, academic journals, online encyclopedias, and helpful bibliographies and can usually be accessed through a college library website.
• Academic peer-reviewed journals : Journal articles that have been peer-reviewed are generally considered reliable because they have been examined by experts in the field for accuracy and quality.
• Google scholar : This Internet search engine helps the user to locate scholarly literature in the form of articles and books, professional societies’ websites, online academic websites, and more.
• Library reference or research desk : Library staff can provide useful services, such as assistance with the use of library research tools, guidance with identifying credible and non-credible sources, and selection of reliable sources.

Blakeslee, Sarah (2004).  “The CRAAP Test” .  LOEX Quarterly . 31 (3).

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

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ENGL 1001: English Composition Research Strategies

Craap method.

• 1. What is research?
• 2. Choosing a Topic
• Information Timeline & Life Cycle
• How does the Internet work?
• ACT UP Method
• SIFT Method
• 5. Background Information
• 6. Magazines & Newspapers
• 7. Scholarly Information (Databases)
• 8. Writing and Presenting Your Research
• 9. Citation Strategies & Guidelines This link opens in a new window
• Class Assessment
• I Need Help!

Evaluating Information with the CRAAP Method

Information is all around us.  But finding  good  information can be a little trickier.  One evaluation tool we can utilize when we come across information is the CRAAP method. CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Use the questions posed below on your sources to see if they stack up!  

When was the information created? How old is too old?  Does the currency of the information matter? Has the material been updated or revised?  

Consider the importance of currency for the following sources: 

• An article on cancer treatments written in 1970
• A historical analysis of the Revolutionary War written in 1982
• A book on computer programming written in 1995 

Is the information related to your research?  Does the information support your assignment?  Did you look at only one source?  Who is this written for?   

How relevant would the following sources be for your paper? 

• a popular magazine article
• the first 5 results in Google
• the first 5 results in Discovery or one of the library's other databases

Who or what created the information?  Who or what is publishing the information?  What credentials, education, affiliations, or experience does the information creator have to write on this topic?  Can you find information about the author easily?  What can we tell from the domain of the website where the information has been published?  

Remember: website domains can help you understand the source of the information you're looking at.  For example, in order to have a .edu or .gov in your domain you have to be a college/university or governmental entity respectively.  Other website domains like .com, .org, and .net can all be purchased.   Don't assume that a .org is more trustworthy than a .com!!!

Are the following authoritative sources? 

• a tweet about a salmonella outbreak by the CDC (Center for Disease Control) 
• a peer-reviewed article on medical marijuana written by a team of scientists 
• The National Association of Social Workers' website and blog 

Is this information factual? Has it been peer-reviewed?  Is the information supported by evidence?  Does the author credit their sources?  Are there grammatical or spelling errors?  

Consider what these points might mean for a resource's accuracy:

• numerous citations found throughout 
• misuse of "they're" 
• emotional language and tone 
• unable to verify the information anywhere else 

Purpose 

Why was this information created  was the information created to inform, teach, sell, entertain, or persuade you  is the purpose made clear .

Remember: information can have political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal bias.  Is it fact, opinion, or propaganda?

What do you think the purpose of the following could be? 

• an article written by Apple about the picture quality of the newest iPhone
• an article published by the NRA on gun control
• a study funded by Coca-Cola on the connection between sugar and depression 

The CRAAP Method was developed by Meriam Library at California State University.

• << Previous: 4. Evaluating Information and Sources
• Next: ACT UP Method >>
• Last Updated: Mar 11, 2024 9:31 AM
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• CRAAP Analysis

Let’s take a closer look at how analyzing the C.R.A.A.P. in a source can serve as a valuable source evaluation tool.

Currency: The timeliness of the information

Determining when an item of information was published or produced is an aspect of evaluating information. The date information was published or produced tells you how current it is or how contemporaneous it is with the topic you are researching. There are two facets to the issue of currency.

• Is the information the most recent version?
• Is the information the original research, description, or account?

The question of most recent version of information versus an original or primary version can be a critical one. For example: If you were doing a project on the survival of passengers in car crashes, you would need the most recent information on automobile crash tests, structural strength of materials, car wreck mortality statistics, etc. If, on the other hand, you were doing a project on the feelings of college students about the VietNam War during the 1960s, you would need information written in the 1960s by college students (primary sources) as well as materials written since then about college students in the 1960s (secondary sources). Key indicators of the currency of the information are:

• date of copyright
• date of publication
• date of revision or edition
• dates of sources cited
• date of patent or trademark

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs

The discussion of suitability above is essentially the same thing as relevance. When you read through your source, consider how the source will effectively support your argument and how you can utilize the source in your paper. You should also consider whether the source provides sufficient coverage of the topic. Information sources with broad, shallow coverage mean that you need to find other sources of information to obtain adequate details about your topic. Information sources with a very narrow focus or a distinct bias mean that you need to find additional sources to obtain the information on other aspects of your topic. Some questions to consider are:

• Does the information relate to my topic or answer my question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too simple or advanced) for my needs?
• Did I look at a variety of sources before deciding to use this one?
• Would I be comfortable using this source for my college research paper?

Authority: The source of the information

Determining the knowledge and expertise of the author of information is an important aspect of evaluating the reliability of information. Anyone can make an assertion or a statement about some thing, event, or idea, but only someone who knows or understands what that thing, event, or idea is can make a reasonably reliable statement or assertion about it. Some external indications of knowledge of or expertise are:

• a formal academic degree in a subject area
• professional or work-related experience–businessmen, government agency personnel, sports figures, etc. have expertise on their area of work
• active involvement in a subject or organization by serious amateurs who spend substantial amounts of personal time researching and studying that subject area.
• organizations, agencies, institutions, corporations with active involvement or work in a particular subject area.

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the information

Establishing the accuracy, or relative accuracy, of information is an important part of evaluating the reliability of information. It is easier to establish the accuracy of facts than it is opinions, interpretations, or ideas. The more an idea, opinion, or other piece of information varies from the accepted point of view on a particular topic the harder it is to establish its accuracy. It may be completely accurate but corroborating it is both more necessary and more difficult. An important aspect of accuracy is the intellectual integrity of the item.

• Are the sources appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references?
• Are quotations cited correctly and in context? Out of context quotations can be misleading and sometimes completely erroneous.
• Are there exaggerations, omissions, or errors? These are difficulty to identify if you use only one source of information. Always use several different sources of information on your topic. Analyzing what different sources say about a topic is one way to understand that topic.

In addition to errors of fact and integrity, you need to watch for errors of logic. Errors of logic occur primarily in the presentation of conclusions, opinions, interpretations, editorials, ideas, etc. Some indications that information is accurate are:

• the same information can be found in other reliable sources
• the experiment can be replicated and returns the same results
• the documentation provided in support of the information is substantive
• the sources used for documentation are known to be generally reliable
• the author of the information is known to have expertise on that subject
• the presentation is free from logical fallacies or errors
• quotations are “in context”-the meaning of the original work is kept in the work which quotes the original
• quotations are correctly cited
• acronyms are clearly defined at the beginning

Some indications that information may not be accurate are:

• facts cannot be verified or are contradicted in other sources
• sources used are known to be unreliable or highly biased
• bibliography of sources used is inadequate or non-existent
• quotations are taken out of context and given a different meaning
• acronyms are not defined and the intended audience is a general one
• presence of one or more logical fallacies
• authority cited is another part of the same organization

Purpose: The reason the information exists

Identifying the intended audience of the information or product is another aspect of evaluating information. The intended audience of an item generally determines the style of presentation, the level of technical detail, and the depth of coverage. You should also consider the author’s objectivity. Are they trying to persuade? Do they present any bias? While it is unlikely that anything humans do is ever absolutely objective, it is important to establish that the information you intend to use is reasonably objective, or if it is not, to establish exactly what the point of view or bias is. There are times when information expressing a particular point of view or bias is useful, but you must use it consciously. You must know what the point of view is and why that point of view is important to your project. For example , books on food sanitation written for children, for restaurant workers, or for research microbiologists will be very different even though they all cover the same topic.

For example , items produced for scholarly or professional audiences are generally produced by experts and go through a peer evaluation process. Items produced for the mass market frequently are not produced by experts and generally do not go through an evaluation process. Some indications of the intended audience are:

• highly technical language, complex analysis, very sophisticated/technical tools can indicate a technical, professional, or scholarly audience
• how-to information or current practices in “X” are frequently written by experts for practitioners in that field
• substantive and serious presentations of a topic with not too much technical language are generally written for the educated lay audience
• popular language, fairly simple presentations of a topic, little or no analysis, inexpensive tools can indicate a general or popular audience
• bibliographies, especially long bibliographies, are generally compiled by and for those doing research on that topic

The CRAAP Test

Review the steps of the C.R.A.A.P method and practice evaluating sources in this tutorial from Eastern Michigan University.

Be sure to complete the practice exercises at the end of the tutorial.

• Revision and Adaptation. Provided by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Evaluating Information. Provided by : The University of Rhode Island. Located at : http://uri.libguides.com/start/craap . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
• Provided by : Virginia Tech. Located at : http://info-skills.lib.vt.edu/evaluating_info/2.html . Project : University Libraries Information Skills Modules. License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• CRAAP Tutorial. Authored by : Bill Marino. Provided by : Eastern Michigan University. Located at : http://www.emich.edu/library/help/reliability/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
• Table of Contents

Instructor Resources (available upon sign-in)

• Overview of Instructor Resources
• Quiz Survey

Reading: Types of Reading Material

• Introduction to Reading
• Outcome: Types of Reading Material
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 1
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 2
• Characteristics of Texts, Part 3
• Characteristics of Texts, Conclusion
• Self Check: Types of Writing

Reading: Reading Strategies

• Outcome: Reading Strategies
• The Rhetorical Situation
• Academic Reading Strategies
• Self Check: Reading Strategies

Reading: Specialized Reading Strategies

• Outcome: Specialized Reading Strategies
• Online Reading Comprehension
• How to Read Effectively in Math
• How to Read Effectively in the Social Sciences
• How to Read Effectively in the Sciences
• 5 Step Approach for Reading Charts and Graphs
• Self Check: Specialized Reading Strategies

Reading: Vocabulary

• Outcome: Vocabulary
• Strategies to Improve Your Vocabulary
• Using Context Clues
• The Relationship Between Reading and Vocabulary
• Self Check: Vocabulary

Reading: Thesis

• Outcome: Thesis
• Locating and Evaluating Thesis Statements
• The Organizational Statement
• Self Check: Thesis

Reading: Supporting Claims

• Outcome: Supporting Claims
• Types of Support
• Supporting Claims
• Self Check: Supporting Claims

Reading: Logic and Structure

• Outcome: Logic and Structure
• Rhetorical Modes
• Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
• Diagramming and Evaluating Arguments
• Logical Fallacies
• Evaluating Appeals to Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
• Self Check: Logic and Structure

Reading: Summary Skills

• Outcome: Summary Skills
• How to Annotate
• Paraphrasing
• Quote Bombs
• Summary Writing
• Self Check: Summary Skills
• Conclusion to Reading

Writing Process: Topic Selection

• Introduction to Writing Process
• Outcome: Topic Selection
• Starting a Paper
• Choosing and Developing Topics
• Back to the Future of Topics
• Developing Your Topic
• Self Check: Topic Selection

Writing Process: Prewriting

• Outcome: Prewriting
• Prewriting Strategies for Diverse Learners
• Rhetorical Context
• Working Thesis Statements
• Self Check: Prewriting

Writing Process: Finding Evidence

• Outcome: Finding Evidence
• Using Personal Examples
• Performing Background Research
• Listening to Sources, Talking to Sources
• Self Check: Finding Evidence

Writing Process: Organizing

• Outcome: Organizing
• Moving Beyond the Five-Paragraph Theme
• Introduction to Argument
• The Three-Story Thesis
• Organically Structured Arguments
• Logic and Structure
• The Perfect Paragraph
• Introductions and Conclusions
• Self Check: Organizing

Writing Process: Drafting

• Outcome: Drafting
• From Outlining to Drafting
• Flash Drafts
• Self Check: Drafting

Writing Process: Revising

• Outcome: Revising
• Seeking Input from Others
• Responding to Input from Others
• The Art of Re-Seeing
• Higher Order Concerns
• Self Check: Revising

Writing Process: Proofreading

• Outcome: Proofreading
• Lower Order Concerns
• Proofreading Advice
• "Correctness" in Writing
• The Importance of Spelling
• Punctuation Concerns
• Self Check: Proofreading
• Conclusion to Writing Process

Research Process: Finding Sources

• Introduction to Research Process
• Outcome: Finding Sources
• The Research Process
• Finding Sources
• What are Scholarly Articles?
• Finding Scholarly Articles and Using Databases
• Database Searching
• Advanced Search Strategies
• Preliminary Research Strategies
• Reading and Using Scholarly Sources
• Self Check: Finding Sources

Research Process: Source Analysis

• Outcome: Source Analysis
• Evaluating Sources
• Evaluating Websites
• Synthesizing Sources
• Self Check: Source Analysis

Research Process: Writing Ethically

• Outcome: Writing Ethically
• Academic Integrity
• Defining Plagiarism
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Using Sources in Your Writing
• Self Check: Writing Ethically

Research Process: MLA Documentation

• Introduction to MLA Documentation
• Outcome: MLA Documentation
• MLA Document Formatting
• MLA Works Cited
• Creating MLA Citations
• MLA In-Text Citations
• Self Check: MLA Documentation
• Conclusion to Research Process

Grammar: Nouns and Pronouns

• Introduction to Grammar
• Outcome: Nouns and Pronouns
• Pronoun Cases and Types
• Pronoun Antecedents
• Try It: Nouns and Pronouns
• Self Check: Nouns and Pronouns

Grammar: Verbs

• Outcome: Verbs
• Verb Tenses and Agreement
• Non-Finite Verbs
• Complex Verb Tenses
• Try It: Verbs
• Self Check: Verbs

Grammar: Other Parts of Speech

• Outcome: Other Parts of Speech
• Comparing Adjectives and Adverbs
• Adjectives and Adverbs
• Conjunctions
• Prepositions
• Try It: Other Parts of Speech
• Self Check: Other Parts of Speech

Grammar: Punctuation

• Outcome: Punctuation
• End Punctuation
• Hyphens and Dashes
• Apostrophes and Quotation Marks
• Brackets, Parentheses, and Ellipses
• Semicolons and Colons
• Try It: Punctuation
• Self Check: Punctuation

Grammar: Sentence Structure

• Outcome: Sentence Structure
• Parts of a Sentence
• Common Sentence Structures
• Run-on Sentences
• Sentence Fragments
• Parallel Structure
• Try It: Sentence Structure
• Self Check: Sentence Structure

Grammar: Voice

• Outcome: Voice
• Active and Passive Voice
• Using the Passive Voice
• Conclusion to Grammar
• Try It: Voice
• Self Check: Voice

Success Skills

• Introduction to Success Skills
• Habits for Success
• Critical Thinking
• Time Management
• Writing in College
• Computer-Based Writing
• Conclusion to Success Skills

Website Research: Evaluating Example Websites

• Evaluating Example Websites
• Wikipedia References
• Google Scholar
• Open Educational Resources (OER)

Website Examples

To practice evaluating websites you find, let's apply the CRAAP tests to the sites below.  

• First, let's take a look at two spoof websites.  They both have obvious problems, but trying out the CRAAP test on them will help you in evaluating other websites that may fool you into believing they are credible sources.
• Second, try comparing information on a topic from three different websites to see which would be the best to use in an academic research paper.  Remember to check the footers, top menus, and the About sections of each page!

SPOOF WEBSITE 1

This site is a fairly obvious joke - octopi are sea animals and do not live in trees (in the Pacific Northwest or elsewhere).  However, the site is very content-rich and well-organized.  If the subject were the (not real) endangered Pacific Northwest Pine Owl, would you be able to tell the site was a fake?

CRAAP Test:

• CURRENCY -  looking at the footer tells us the site was created in 1998, and last updated in May of 2015
• RELEVANCE - the audience appears to be adults interested in preserving endangered species; the presence of an online store selling merchandise gives it the appearance of an organization
• AUTHORITY - the site author is someone named Lyle Zapato, whose name links to a personal website with no scientific credentials; it is clearly stated that "the site is not associated with any school or educational organization"; and the only contact information is the author's blog
• ACCURACY - most of the sources from this site link back to the author's blog, and many of the others lead to .net, .org, or .com websites written in the same tone as this
• PURPOSE - the content makes it clear that this website exists to entertain

Conclusion - this is NOT a valid website to use in scholarly research!

Apply the CRAAP Test - Nutrition Resources

Apply the CRAAP test to the following websites - which would you use in an academic research paper?  Which would you not use?

• The Nutrition Source
• ChooseMyPlate
• NutritionData

SPOOF WEBSITE 2

This site is a little more tricky; it's an example of a website with entirely fake information, but designed to look as if it's legit.  A quick glance at the home page makes it seem like any other research hospital, but look again; the activities of this "medical center" don't bear close examination.

• CURRENCY - there is no copyright date apparent on the website
• RELEVANCE - the content appears to be written for potential patients
• AUTHORITY - the website relies on its self-proclaimed research hospital status as its authority; it is affiliated with a medical school that, according to Google, doesn't exist; and the only contact information is an address that Google Maps cannot find, and an online form that doesn't state to whom it is sent
• ACCURACY - though it appears unbiased with accurate spelling and grammar, all the information about the hospital, its staff and its research is stated without any references at all; many of the links are not functioning
• PURPOSE - the site's purpose appears to highlight its so-called medical breakthroughs, but the content reveals this site to be an entertaining hoax
• << Previous: Fake News
• Next: Wikipedia References >>
• Last Updated: May 28, 2021 3:43 PM
• URL: https://library.famu.edu/websiteresearch

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4 Evaluating and Summarizing the Evidence

After formulating focused clinical questions and locating the best available evidence, we need to engage in the steps of critically appraising the trustworthiness of the evidence and assessing the relevance of the evidence to the context described in our focused clinical question. After determining that the evidence is both trustworthy and relevant to our clinical question, we need to summarize the key findings of the evidence in a way that is easily accessible to our health care team and determine how to implement those findings in the clinical setting. The final step in the EBP process is reflecting on the results of your implementation and learning from the experience.

Learning Objectives

As a result of engaging with the content of this chapter, you will be able to:

• Identify the steps involved in appraising the trustworthiness of evidence.
• Select the model best suited to appraising evidence for your particular focused clinical question.
• Apply the DISCERN questionnaire in evaluating sources related to treatment options.
• Apply the CRAAP test in evaluating sources in general.
• Create a summary of relevant sources that focuses on your focused clinical question.
• Define the key vocabulary terms of the chapter.

Evaluating Sources for Trustworthiness

When we are using sources to guide our decision-making in healthcare, it is important that we are using the highest quality, most reliable evidence available. While there are some instances in life where acting on the advice of questionable recommendations isn’t disastrous, when we are dealing with healthcare decisions, the actions we take could literally be life or death. We need resources that are trustworthy. But, what does it mean to be trustworthy? According to the Oxford English Dictionary, something that is trustworthy is “able to be relied on as honest or truthful.” Let’s take a look at the idea of trustworthiness in the context of health information and the digital age.

According to a study by the Pew Research Center (2013), nearly 60% of people start their searches for health related information by Googling! However, there is no guarantee that the information people find on the internet is true or reliable. So, we need a quick and easy way to determine if the sources we are looking at are trustworthy. Two methods are commonly recognized (Protillo, Johnson & Johnson, 2021) as effective strategies for determining if health information is trustworthy – DISCERN and The CRAAP Test.

DISCERN is an online questionnaire that helps people assess the quality of health information related to medical treatment options.  The questionnaire can be accessed at http://www.discern.org.uk/discern_instrument.php  . Researchers Charnock and Shepperd (2004) spearheaded The DISCERN project and performed the research underpinning the development of the questionnaire. They designed the questionnaire to support evidence-based practice and it has been validated by numerous independent studies.

The DISCERN questionnaire consists of 16 questions. You will note that some questions are particularly focused on treatment options, making this method of discerning reliability less helpful for evaluating publications focused on diagnoses, diagnostic testing, or disease-specific information such as etiology and prognosis. The questions included in the DISCERN questionnaire are presented below.

The DISCERN Questionnaire

Reliability Questions:

• Are the aims clear?
• Does it achieve its aims?
• Is it relevant?
• Is it clear what sources of information were used to compile the publication (other than the author or producer)?
• Is it clear when the information used or reported in the publication was produced?
• Is it balanced and unbiased?
• Does it provide details of additional sources of support and information?
• Does it refer to areas of uncertainty?

Treatment Choices Questions:

• Does it describe how each treatment works?
• Does it describe the benefits of each treatment?
• Does it describe the risks of each treatment?
• Does it describe what would happen if no treatment is used?
• Does it describe how the treatment choices affect overall quality of life?
• Is it clear that there may be more than one possible treatment choice?
• Does it provide support for shared decision-making?

Overall Assessment:

Based on the answers to all of the above questions, rate the overall quality of the publication as a source of information about treatment choices.

The CRAAP Test

The CRAAP Test method of evaluating information sources was first developed by Sarah Blakeslee (2004), a university librarian who wanted a memorable way for students to remember the criteria for evaluating the reliability of published information. She notes, “For every source of information we now have a handy frame of reference to inquire, ‘Is this CRAAP?'”

The CRAAP Test consists of 5 criteria – Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. Details for performing the CRAAP Test are outlined below.

C urrency : 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?
• Are the links functional?

R elevance : The importance of the information for your needs .

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
• Who is the intended audience? (general public, healthcare providers, researchers)
• 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 be fore determining this is one you will use?
• Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?

A uthority : 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?
• Where does the money for the research or programming come from, if relevant?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? examples : .com .edu .gov .org .net

A ccuracy : 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 o f the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

P urpose: 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?
• Is the information complete? Is anything major excluded?
• How does this resource compare to others on the same topic?

This information was produced by Meriam Library, California State University – Chico and made available under a creative commons license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Does the source pass the CRAAP test? Yes must be selected for each component to pass the CRAAP test.

• Currency – Is the publication date acceptable for the information being conveyed?
• Relevance – Is the information within the source relevant to my topic?
• Authority – Does the author(s) have expert credentials or affiliations and/or is the source is known, published, and reputable?
• Accuracy – Is the information well researched and supported by evidence?
• Purpose – Is my project’s focus unaffected by the source’s slant or bias hinder ?

Instruction and Student Engagement Department, Milner Library, Illinois State University licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Summarizing the Evidence

When writing for evidence-based practice we want to use an approach that is similar to the guidelines and synthesized summaries we discussed in our examination of levels of evidence in chapter four. We want to focus on identifying the important features and concepts gleaned from the resource and how those features and concepts can be applied in the clinical setting. This is different from writing essays or reports. We want to use headings, tables, bulleted or numbered lists, and other formatting options to make the relevant information easy to locate for the members of our health care team. We can include images as long as we explain the important features of the image and how it relates to our focused clinical question.

Determine your Focus

When you summarize publications for evidence-based practice, you want to keep your focused clinical question at the forefront of your mind. The purpose of your summary is to answer your focused clinical question. So, your summary should focus on how the publication relates specifically to your clinical question. If it isn’t related to your clinical question, don’t include it. Don’t lose sight of the big picture – answering your question.

Reading the Article

Before you can summarize the evidence, you have to understand it. This can frequently take longer than you anticipate. Only when you understand the information well enough to explain it to someone else are you ready to write your summary.

Start by scanning the article. Pay close attention to the research question and reason for the study to identify the aims (usually found in the introduction in research articles).  Then skip to the findings (results section) and how those findings were interpreted (in the discussion or conclusion). Underline or highlight key sentences or write the key point of each paragraph in these sections. While you may be able to discover some key points in the abstract, you will need the details found in the introduction, results, and discussion sections to clearly explain what you found.

After you have recorded the main points, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are the questions being answered?
• How does the study address the research questions?
• How convincing are the results? Did you find anything surprising?
• How does this publication contribute to your focused clinical question?
• What aspects of your focused clinical question remain unanswered?

Put it in your own words!

Putting things in your own words helps you avoid plagiarism. We are also wanting to avoid direct quotes in these summaries. The original authors are carefully explaining the entire process. We want a quick and dirty understanding of how their work helps answer our question. If you cannot put it in your own words, you probably don’t understand it well enough and should re-read the publication.

Writing the Summary

The purpose of a good summary is to give your reader an overview of the important concepts in the publication as they relate to the clinical question being asked. To do this, you must decide what is important and condense that information for your reader.

Level of Evidence Support

Like the guidelines and synthesized summaries we discussed earlier, we want to start our discussion of our findings by letting our reader know what level of evidence supports the findings we are summarizing.  The findings from Filtered information (guidelines and synthesized summaries) are most widely applicable of all the resources and are the most reliable. The findings from Unfiltered information (original research studies) are limited by the populations they seek to describe and the sample sized employed in in the study, but have research evidence support. The findings presented in Background information sources is generally accepted as true, but may or may not have research evidence to support them. An example of informing your reader of the level of support for the findings could look something like this:

The publication by Blakesee (2004) is a background information source.

• What is involved in the (diagnosis, diagnostic test, treatment, prognosis)?
• When is the (diagnosis, diagnostic test, treatment) appropriate?
• What are the risks or complications that could arise?
• What are the long term ramifications that you need to be aware of?
• What alternate (diagnoses, diagnostic tests, treatments) are available?
• How does it relate to the specific patient demographics from our scenario?
• What information is still needed to fully answer your focused clinical question?

Stay focused on your clinical question. Be concise (not wordy). Avoid generalities and vague phrases like “patients with this condition,” “diagnostic tests,” “treatment,” or “outcome.” Use details and make your statements specific.

Editing your Draft

Review what you have written and add details to make your summary complete where necessary. Cut redundant or less necessary information.

Tailor your writing to your readers. Expect an intelligent, interested, naive, and slightly lazy audience (e.g., yourself, your classmates). Expect your learning team to be interested in your information, but don’t make them struggle to understand you. Include all the important details, but don’t assume that they are already understood:

• If you can say it simpler, say it simpler
• If you are using a technical term, define it.
• Don’t use direct quotes. Instead paraphrase what you have read. But be sure to place in-text citations in any sentence that you paraphrase.
• Ask a friend to read it and help you catch any confusing points.

Key Ideas for Summarizing the Evidence

• Only include details that are directly related to your focused clinical question.
• Include an indication of the level of evidence provided (Filtered, Unfiltered, or Background).
• Use simple, clear and specific language.
• Don’t use direct quotes.
• Define technical terms.
• Cite your sources.

Blakeslee, S. (2004). The CRAAP Test. LOEX Quarterly , 31 (3). https://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/vol31/iss3/4

Charnock, D., & Shepperd, S. (2004). Learning to DISCERN online: Applying an appraisal tool to health websites in a workshop setting. Health Education Research , 19 (4), 440–446. https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg046

Pew Research Center. (2013, February 12). The Internet and Health. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech . https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/02/12/the-internet-and-health/

Portillo, I. A., Johnson, C. V., & Johnson, S. Y. (2021). Quality Evaluation of Consumer Health Information Websites Found on Google Using DISCERN, CRAAP, and HONcode. Medical Reference Services Quarterly , 40 (4), 396–407. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/02763869.2021.1987799

Evidence-Based Practice for Clinical and Diagnostic Professionals Copyright © 2023 by Carla M. Allen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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