Use the CRAP test.
¨ 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 it complete?
§ “Triangulate” sources (find 3 or so that say the same thing) to determine this
¨ Authority (the author or creator)
§ Who created this resource?
§ Is the creator an expert on this topic?
§ Does the creator have any institutional affiliations?
¨ Purpose (the publishing source and/or medium)
§ Why was the resource created?
§ Who is the intended audience?
§ Does the publishing source have an apparent agenda or bias?
§ Are there ads? A lot of them?
