Did that get your attention? Well, it’s not what you think! CRAP is the acronym for evaluating the credibility of web information: Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose. Researching information has become more complex with the increasing amount of information to sort through online. To determine whether or not information is CRAP, ask yourself these questions:
Currency
- How recent is the information?
- Does it appear elsewhere under an older date?
Reliability
- What kind of information is included in the resource?
- Is the content mostly opinion or fact? Are the two balanced?
- Does the writer provide references or sources for data or quotations?
- Is the information source cited or credit given to those who had similar ideas?
Authority
- Who is the author?
- Is the writer an expert on the topic?
- What are the writer’s credentials?
- Who is the publisher or sponsor?
- Is the sponsor or publisher reputable?
- What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this information?
- Are there advertisements where the article or blog post appears?
Purpose
- Is the information fact or opinion? Is the information biased?
- Is the creator/author trying to sell or persuade the reader of something?
Source: “Is This Information Crap? I Sure Hope So.” wiziq. Web. 4 Aug. 2013.
Scroll through The 3As of A+ Research from Chiara Ojeda below for more information about choosing credible web sources.
Image source: istockphoto.com/marcojavier
