Evaluating Information
Finding information resources is only part of the research process. Once you find them, it is critical to make a determination about their credibility, reliability, validity, accuracy, timeliness, authority, and point of view. Even if the resource aligns with your research question, it may not necessarily be a reliable source of information for academic work.
The comprehensive guide below is also posted on the Instructional Guides page of the library website.
- Evaluating Information ResourcesLocating information is only part of the research process. Deciding which information resources to use is also a necessary step in academic research.
Refer to the additional links below for more help with evaluating resources:
- Be a Better Writer Evaluating Sources Using the CRAAP TestCRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. It is a list of questions to help determine if the information you find is good quality.
- Johns Hopkins Evaluating Information GuideHow to evaluate information from social media to scholarly articles.
- Purdue OWL - Evaluating SourcesGeneral guidelines for evaluation including bibliographic citations, scholarly and popular sources, primary and secondary sources, digital sources, etc.
- UC Berkeley Library: Evaluating Resources GuideAn easy-to-read summary of what questions to ask when encountering a resource.
- Website Setup: Evaluating Online ResourcesWhile it is not an academic site, this guide has a lot of great information about finding trustworthy sources, plagiarism, copyright, and accessibility issues.