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- Is the information current or out-of-date for your topic?
- If it is a website, do all the links work? Is there a newer version of the website? Is it hosted in a new location?
Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs
- Is the information related to your topic or answer your question?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too simple or advanced for your needs)?
- Have you looked at a variety of sources before choosing what resources to use?
- Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?
Authority: the source of the information
- Who is the author, publisher, sponsor, or source?
- What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?
- Can you verify those credentials?
- Is the author qualified to write on the topic?
- Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
- If it is a website, does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?
- examples:
- .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov (U.S. government)
- .org (non-profit 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?
- Can you verify the information using more than one credible source?
- Has the information been peer-reviewed? (evaluation of the work by other experts in the same field)
- Does the language or tone seem unbiased 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 teach? inform? 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?
Adapted from Evaluating Information-Applying the CRAAP Test by California State University-Chico Meriam Library, CC-BY license.