The CRAP test for evaluating sources

I frequently blog about evaluating sources— it was the subject of my very first post–so it should come as no surprise that I liked “Crap Detection, A 21st Century Literacy” from the Libraries and Transliteracy blog, which I found through the Librarian in Black.

I wanted to point out two great items featured in the post: Howard Rheingold’s “Crap Detection 101,” and the librarian-created CRAP test for evaluating sources based on “Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose/Point of View”:

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 it 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 publisher or sponsor?
• Are they reputable?
• What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this information?
• Are there advertisements on the website?

Purpose/Point of View

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

Though the questions are familiar (I put together a similar list for my research classes), I love the acronym CRAP, as it is descriptive and memorable. I know I’ll be using it, and I hope it helps you keep in mind some of the criteria to consider when evaluating sources.