DA125 Hiatt

Great question. A "good" source is both credible and relevant.

Relevancy means the source helps you answer your questions, learn widely about your topic, and think about your topic in new ways.

Credibility, when applied to an information source, means trustworthy. Trustworthiness is tricky to determine, but doable! Pause and ask questions about your source, beyond just what is in your source. CCC Library recommends either of these tools to help you evaluate your sources.

• The CRAP Test

• The SIFT Method

Ultimately it is up to you to determine — using research and your own critical judgment — whether a source is credible or not. And "credible" can mean something and look different to everyone. Your instructors expect you to use credible, authoritative information in your projects and papers, so be upfront and clear about why you trust the information you choose to use.

CCC Librarians are here to help you with this question, too. ♥

^{Abe adapted from public domain photo Abraham Lincoln [image]. (1863). Available from https://upload.wikimedia.org/}

Evaluating information is especially important when completing projects and assignments in college (and at work!) because you will be evaluated on the quality of sources you use. The CRAP Test is a helpful tool to use when deciding if a source is "good." CRAP stands for Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose / Point of View.

When you evaluate a source, consider these four concepts by asking yourself a few questions about each.

Currency

• When was the item originally written or created?
• How recently has the item been updated?
• Is the information current enough for your topic?

Reliability

• How important is it for you that this information is accurate?
• Are there Works Cited or References, informal citations, or links to outside sources? Are sources included for data, quotations, and images?
• Was the item reviewed by experts or people with relevant experience?
• Does this information have any characteristics of misinformation, disinformation, or fake news?
• Does the information seem accurate based on your existing knowledge of the subject?

Authority

• Who is the creator or author? What does it mean if you cannot identify the creator or author?
• What are their credentials? Can you find any information about the author's background, education, and/or experience?
• Who is the publisher, sponsor, or hosting website? Are they reputable? What is the publisher's interest (if any) in sharing this information? What is on their "About Us" page?

Purpose / Point of View

• Does the information help you answer your questions, learn widely about your topic, and / or think about your topic in new ways?
• Is the information fact or opinion?
• Can you identify bias in the article? Does the information amplify certain viewpoints or experiences? Does the information omit or misconstrue certain viewpoints or experiences?
• Is this information meant to educate you, persuade you, sell you something, and / or appeal to your emotions or values? If so, are these intentions clearly stated?
• Who is the intended audience for this information? How might the audience impact what is shared and how (e.g., does this resource require in-depth knowledge to understand)? Is this information intended for you and your information needs?

^{CRAP Test adapted from Beestrum, M., & Orenic, K. (2008). The CRAP test. Available from http://commons.emich.edu}

In terms of CRAP, here are some things to look for when it comes to reading evaluating websites.

Currency

• Sometimes dates are hard to find, or confusing, on webpages. If their is a copyright date (often found at the bottom of the page) or other sort of date in the footer, that is usually for the overall site - the content you see may have been written earlier. What do you do to verify currency?
  • Check for references to dates in the text, and then do a quick internet search to check that those references are correct. For example, if the webpage says that 2020 Brexit took place. Most likely the piece was written in 2020 or later, and I can Google "Brexit" to verify the date.
  • If the webpage has references or links to outside text, click through to figure out if those have date information so you can verify.

Reliability

• If the webpage you want to use (WYWU) has links to outside pages, click through to make sure that the WYWU is using that information correctly and ethically.
• Fact-check by using a fact-check website or doing more reading and research to verify the information on other websites. (Check out CCC Library's fact-check page.)

Authority

• Make sure to consider both the author of the individual webpage or article you are using AND the name of the website (the publisher), which is usually the name directly after www. 
• Additional information about the publisher should be available in the about us page (or some webpages have a history or company page instead).

Purpose / Point of View

• Are there ads or lots of pop-ups? That may mean that the web source is more interested in selling you something that providing credible information. It might also mean that they are trying to get their click count up so that they are ranked higher.

Website domain suffixes (can be R, A, or P!)

Pay attention to the end of the URL when using online sources.

• .org, .com, and .net can all be purchased by anyone. This doesn't mean they are bad, it might mean that they are biased, and it always means you should double check to verify the information.
  • Extra note on .org. This is supposed to be reserved for non-profits. Some non-profits have an education-focused mission, but not all do and anyone can purchase a .org. Always double check the "about us page" for more information.
• .gov is reserved for federal and state government agencies, theses sites are more restrictive about who can publish on them; in the US these are usually considered reliable. Local governments might use or.us (Oregon) or wa.us (Washington) instead of .gov - these are great sites to use for local information.
• .edu is for educational institutions and anyone who works at or attends the institution can post. .edu sites are usually more credible than .com or .net, but since individuals can get their own .edu pages when they are at the institutions, it's best to verify the information.