ENGL 1160 - Race, Writing, & Power: Black Feminist Narratives of Care, Love, and Community: Evaluate Sources

How to Critically Analyze Information Sources

A guide to the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.

Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of scholarly research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.

Watch this video to learn how to identify scholarly journal articles.

Be skeptical of news that comes to you through third-party channels (social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, and even web searches).

Independently verify the source (by performing a separate search) and verify the information (through trusted news sources).

Select news sources known for high-quality, investigative reporting and search these sources directly. Don't settle for web search results or social media news feeds.

For more information on spotting fake news or unreliable information, see the Library's guide on Evaluating News Sources.

 

APPLYING THE CRAAP TEST!!!

When you search for information, you're going to find lots of it . . . but is it good information? You will have to determine that for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help. The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.   Key: indicates criteria is for Web  

 

Evaluation Criteria  

 

Currency: The timeliness of the information.  

• When was the information published or posted?  
• Has the information been revised or updated?  
• Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?  
• Are the links functional?  

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.  

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?  
• Who is the intended audience?  
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?  
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?  
• Would you be comfortable citing this source in your research paper?  

Authority: The source of the information.  

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?  
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?  
• Is the author qualified to write on the topic?  
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?
•  Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?    examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net  

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

•  Where does the information come from?  
• Is the information supported by evidence?  
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?  
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?  
• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?  
• Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?  

Purpose: The reason the information exists.  

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?  
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?  
• Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?  
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?  
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?