Scholarly Sources

The C.R.A.P. method is a framework for beginning to evaluate sources. You need to look at the source itself AND do some fact-checking outside the source, too.

¨      Currency—consider:

§  When the source was created or last updated?

§  Is this current enough for your topic (some fields change more rapidly than others)?

¨      Reliability (the content itself)

§  Are the sources of the information documented (cited)?

§  Is the content mostly opinion or mostly verifiable information?

§  Is the source summarizing or re-stating a different source? If so, "go upstream" to that original source and use it, instead.

§  When in doubt, do a quick web search to see if anyone else has already fact-checked the claims.

¨      Authority (the author or creator)

§  Who created this resource?

§  Is the creator an expert on this topic?

§  Does the creator have any institutional affiliations?

§  "Read laterally"-- do some quick searching to find out what others say about the author. What kind of reputation do they have?

¨      Purpose (the publishing source and/or medium)

§  Why was the resource created?

§  Who is the intended audience?

§  Does the publishing source have an agenda? (E.g., are they trying to get you to support a certain candidate or buy a product?)

§  Again, "read laterally"-- do some quick searching to find out what others say about the publication. What kind of reputation does it have?

§  Are there ads? A lot of them?