CRJU 3111: American Courts

So you have chosen your research topic, and used the library, web, and online databases to gather your materials. But...are the sources objective? Accurate? Authoritative?

While you can find information on almost any topic, the downside is that many sources may not be the most credible. Because your instructors expect you to base your projects on reliable information, it is important to be knowledgeable about how to determine if a source is credible or not.

When you search the Web, you’re going to find a lot of information . . . but is it accurate and reliable? You will have to determine this for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help. The CRAAP Test is a list of questions you can ask yourself in order to determine if the information on a web site is reliable

 CRAAP is an acronym for:

Currency - Is the material current? Does it contain outdated or disproven information? Is the site maintained regularly?

Relevance - Is the material relevant to your question?

Author - Who wrote the content? What are the author's qualifications? Is there a way to contact the author?

Accuracy - How accurate is the information? What evidence does the author use? Does the author cite sources?

Purpose - What is the purpose of the content? Is the content objective or biased?

  Scholarly (peer-reviewed) resources undergo review by experts in a field of study, who determine that the article is objective and credible before they are published. Examples of peer-reviewed resources include articles in scientific journals, encyclopedias, and textbooks

  Non-scholarly resources are published without review by experts. Non-scholarly resources range from a variety of types, such as websites and magazines, to newspapers, and books.

* If you plan to use non-scholarly materials, ask your instructor beforehand, and use the CRAAP test to guide your judgement in using these resources.

Wikipedia contains articles on nearly any topic, which are contributed by the public at large. There is debate on the accuracy of Wikipedia sources. Be sure to check with your instructor about citing Wikipedia in your research projects.

Wikipedia is a great starting point for your research, and a great way to get general knowledge on a topic. However, it is always a safe best to stick with peer-reviewed resources and reliable websites (.edu or .gov)