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SOC_POL_351-0: Education Policy and Social Change

Evaluating Sources Using the CRAAP Test

Use the CRAAP Test below to evaluate books, articles, websites and other materials.  It works for all information formats and also happens to be a great mnemonic device!

Criteria Questions to Ask
Currency
  • Does your topic require current information?  If so, when was the source written and published?
  • Has the information been revised or updated recently?
Relevance
  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
  • Who is the intended audience?  Is the level too elementary or advanced for your needs?
Authority
  • Who is the author (person, company, or organization) and what are the author's credentials and affiliations?
  • If a website, does the URL provide insight?  examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net
Accuracy
  • Where does the information come from?
  • Can the information be verified through another source?
  • Has the information been reviewed?  Is there a bibliography?
Purpose
  • What is the reason for the source's existence?  To inform, teach, sell, entertain, or persuade?
  • Who is the intended audience? 
  • Does the point of view appear objective or biased?

 

Adapted from Evaluating Information - Applying the CRAAP Test from the Meriam Library at California State University, Chico

Evaluating Articles

Magazines, journals, scholarly, popular, peer-reviewed...??  If you've ever run across any or a combination of these terms and needed clarification on their distinct meanings, this page aims to provide it.

 

Scholarly Journals

Trade Journals

Popular Magazines

Newspapers

Examples

Social Psychology Quarterly

Advertising Age

Time

New York Times

Content

Primary account of original research; In-depth analyses of issues in the field; Articles often include abstract, method, discussion, tables, conclusion, and references

Current news, trends, or products in an industry or professional organization; Statistics, forecasts, employment and career information

Current events and news; General information with purpose to entertain or inform; Analyses of popular culture; Secondary account of someone else's research that may include opinion

Current events and news that may be local, regional, national or international; Ads, editorials, speeches; Primary source for information on events

Language

Academic, technical jargon that uses the language of the discipline; Requires some relevant expertise

Specialized jargon or terminology of the field; Written for practitioners/professionals

Easily understandable, non-technical language; Written for the layperson

Written for a general audience; Understandable language

Authors

Researchers, scholars, professors, etc.

Practitioners in the field, industry professionals, or journalists with subject expertise

Journalists or staff writers

Journalists or staff writers

References

References, footnotes or bibliographies are always included

References in text or short bibliographies are occasionally included

References are rarely included

Rarely cite sources in full

Editors

Journal's editorial board, or if peer-reviewed, external scholars in the same field

Work for the publisher

Work for the publisher

Work for the publisher

Publishers

Universities, scholarly presses, or academic organizations

Commercial publishers or trade and professional organizations

Commercial publishers

Commercial publishers

Example Databases

Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Sociological Abstracts, Historical Abstracts

ABI Inform, Business Source Premier, ERIC, SPORTDiscus

Readers Guide Abstracts, Academic OneFile, Academic Search Premier

LexisNexis Academic, Access World News, Library Press Display

 

Peer-reviewed journal articles vs. scholarly journal articles
Not all scholarly journal articles are peer-reviewed. However, all peer-reviewed articles (aka refereed articles) are scholarly.

What is peer-review?
Peer-review refers to the rigorous process that articles undergo before they may be published.  Other scholars in the author's field or discipline review and evaluate the article for quality and validity.  If lacking, the article may be rejected, but otherwise, the article is accepted, often with suggestions for revision.