What should I be looking for?

Now that you've learned how to search for information, you've found a lot of potential resources. You may have found websites, documents, videos, PowerPoint presentations -- there is so much you could find on the Internet. Each source could have an answer for you. How would you know if that answer would be right?

By now you know it's important to think critically about your sources. Great researchers also compare sources to see if they are saying the same thing. Beyond looking at multiple resources, you can analyze a result based on five criteria. These are the same five criteria you defined on the previous page in your online or paper journal.

These criteria include:

Currency

Relevancy

Authority

Accuracy

Purpose

Activity: View and Compare CRAAP Criteria

For this activity, you will view a website defining each of the above criteria. Notice that this page also includes questions you may ask yourself while evaluating. After viewing the website, watch the following two videos, which will reinforce what you see on the website, and provide you with an example analysis.

View

In a separate tab, view this webpage: Evaluating Information

Watch

Evaluating Sources This video describes each of the five criteria you saw earlier in the website.

The CRAP Test in Action This is a video example of an analysis of selected resources. In this video, the author mentions Currency, Relevancy, Authority, and Purpose, but doesn't address Accuracy.

Reflect in your journal, comparing your earlier personal definitions with what you know now about each criteria. Why is evaluation of resources needed? What purpose does it serve?

Evaluating Your Search Results

This is the final stage in the mini-course; the rest is up to you. You learned how to develop a research plan and a question to guide you. You've learned how to hunt for resources to answer your question and how to sift through the information using search terms and limiters. Now you've learned five criteria you can use to look at resources more closely and how to determine whether or not the information you have found on a website should be trusted or indicates that it is a quality source.

So what's next?

As your last and final activity, choose one website to analyze using the five criteria. Record your findings in your online journal, and if possible, answer your research question.

Final Thoughts

Learning to search effectively is a lifelong process. As information on the Internet changes, so does our information seeking behavior. While it's important to be aware of new tools or trends, being flexible in our response to the changing information environment is important too.

Back to Home