Biology Research

Before you use a website for a paper or project, you should evaluate it and make sure it is appropriate for your class research. The continuum of credibility below shows which sources you should be skeptical of using and which are more appropriate, or you can use the CRAAP test below that to help you determine if your source is a good one. 

CRAAP scorecard for evaluating sources. The categories for scoring include:

• Currency
  • when was the information published or updated?
• Relevance
  • does this source answer your research or assignment questions?
• Authority
  • who is the author or publisher and can you verify his or her credentials?
• Accuracy
  • are the statements or facts backed up with evidence and sources?
• Purpose
  • is the information unbiased and impartial?

Each category can be scored from one to ten with one being the low score and ten being the high score. The higher the total score, the more reliable the website may be. Any source scoring below thirty might not be considered acceptable for academic research.