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POL 340 -- Political Participation and Ideology: Evaluating Your Materials

Evaluate Resources

Check out the CRAAP evaluation video (2:28) on YouTube.

C.R.A.A.P. Test

The C.R.A.A.P test is a way to evaluate a source based on the following criteria: Currency, Reliability, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose/Point of View.  Below are some questions to help you think about how to measure each of the criteria.

Currency

  • How recent is the information?
  • How recently has the website been updated?
  • Is it current enough for your topic?

Reliability

  • What kind of information is included in the resource?
  • Is content of the resource primarily opinion?  Is is balanced?
  • Does the creator provide references or sources for data or quotations?

Authority

  • Who is the creator or author?
  • What are the credentials?
  • Who is the published or sponsor?
  • Are they reputable?
  • What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?
  • Are there advertisements on the website?

Accuracy

  • Are there citations to the sources of the information?
  • Are these sources reputable?
  • Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?

Purpose/Point of View

  • Is this fact or opinion?
  • Is it biased?
  • Is the creator/author trying to sell you something?

(from the LOEX Wiki)