Information Literacy (LIBR 2100)

"The CRAAP test was developed by librarians at California State University at Chico and it gives you a good, overall set of elements to look for when evaluating a resource" (Bernnard et al., 2014, p. 73).

These are the elements of the CRAAP test with a couple of criteria (for a more extensive list, consult Chapter 5 in The Information Literacy User's Guide.

Before you begin the CRAAP test, it is essential to be aware of our emotional response to the information we are evaluating. Our emotions can either heighten or diffuse our ability to evaluate information critically.

Currency

• When was the information published? Has it been updated?
• How frequently does the information about your topic change? (E.g., electronics, health information, computer technology versus 19th-century literature, philosophy, history)

Relevance

• Read the introduction, thesis, and conclusion of the article. Skim the webpage for keywords and concepts. Look at the index or table of contents for a book. Which parts will you use?
• Does the information relate to your research topic?

Authority

• What makes the author an expert on this subject? What are their qualifications and how can you verify that?
• Where is the author publishing? Is the source reputable?

Accuracy

• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Are there references that you can find and use to verify the information?

Purpose

• Why was the information created: to inform, sell, persuade, or entertain?
• Does the information omit important facts or show bias?
• Is the information meant as satire or hoax? (These kinds of sources can look convincing!)

Bernnard, D., Bobish, G., Hecker, J., Holden, I., Hosier, A., Jacobson, T., ... Bullis, D. (2014). The information literacy user's guide: An open, online textbook. G. Bobish & T. Jacobson (Eds.). Retrieved from http://textbooks.opensuny.org/the-information-literacy-users-guide-an-open-online-textbook/

The CRAAP Test is a means of evaluating information based on:

• Currency
• Relevance
• Authority
• Accuracy
• Purpose

This video courtesy of McMaster Libraries explains each of these criteria in more detail

McMaster Libraries. (2015, January 23). How library stuff works: How to evaluate resources (the CRAAP test) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/_M1-aMCJHFg

Build on your evaluation skills:

1. Draw your information from a wide range of sources rather than one or two sites.
2. Check other sites and experts to see what they are saying about the source you are evaluating.

Checklists are useful because they compensate for shortcomings in human attention and memory.  Unfortunately, checklists can also oversimplify the evaluation process and lead us to miss vital clues to the nature of the information we are evaluating. 

By definition, checklists simplify complex procedures to help us remember their essence. For example, each word in the CRAAP acronym is a short form that represents other evaluative questions. It is easy to remember that CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose. However, under each heading, there are a further four to six sub-points for a total of 25 questions. It is doubtful that any of us can remember the full list of evaluative questions or have the time to apply them to our information sources. Consequently, we tend to internalize just a few points to examine; a shortcut which may provide us with a false sense of competency. This practice could lead us to use inappropriate information or worse, be open to deception. A strategy to alleviate this shortcoming is to draw from a wide range of sources rather than one or two sites.

Most checklists, like the CRAAP list, encourage us to examine the components of an information source deeply, i.e. the author, the date, the contents, etc.. This leaves us vulnerable to sites that deliberately and expertly manipulate these website features to hide the actual owners of the site and their intentions. For example, when using the CRAAP checklist, it is hard to recognize when corporate-funded sites pose as grassroots initiatives. A strategy to alleviate this shortcoming is to read laterally. Check other sites and experts to see what they are saying about the source you are evaluating.

Sources:

Breakstone, J., McGrew, S., Smith, M., Ortega, T., & Wineburg, S. (2018). Why we need a new approach to teaching digital literacy. Phi Delta Kappan 99(6), doi:10.1177/0031721718762419  [Available online via kappanonline.org]

Caulfield, M. (2016, December 19). Yes, digital literacy. But which one? Hapgood. Retrieved from https://hapgood.us/2016/12/19/yes-digital-literacy-but-which-one 

It is always important to critically evaluate information that you are using. Sometimes this is easier to do than others. Many printed sources go through an editorial review process which means that either one person or several people agree that the information is credible before allowing it to be published. Newspaper articles, magazine articles, and scholarly journal articles all go through this process.

Just because something is published, doesn't mean you should trust it. Consider the supermarket tabloids like the Weekly World News. Certainly, that information source is suspect! Here are some other scenarios that should cause you to think more critically about what you read:

• Magazines accept advertising. Universities accept industry donations. In theory, researchers and journalists are not supposed to take this into account when conducting research or writing an article criticizing a company or a product, but it is something that you as a reader should consider as a possibility.
• Newspapers, magazines, and television stations are now often owned by large entertainment companies (for example, Time Warner owns Time Magazine, CNN, HBO, New Line Cinema, AOL, and Warner Bros., Sports Illustrated, and Warner Books). Think about that the next time you read a review of a new album, book, movie, or television show.
• Even scholarly journals are not exempt. In the last 5 years, peer review scandals and hoaxes have led to the retraction of peer-reviewed journal articles in both the sciences and the social sciences.   Most journals do not publicize article retractions so that the public is mostly unaware of the discredited work. The Retraction Watch blog tracks retracted journal articles.

Just because you find information on the Web does not mean it is automatically false NOR does it mean you can automatically trust it. It needs to be critically evaluated just like any printed source, and in some cases even MORE critically evaluated since many websites have no editor or reviewers. There are some websites which are entirely fictitious. Using reviewed sources, comparing the information you find in one source to other sources on the same topic, and corroborating information are three useful strategies for ensuring the quality of your information.

Below are some questions that can guide you through the process of thinking critically about the information source you are considering using. Keep in mind that this process may take some time. It isn't necessary to answer all the questions, but it is important that you think through them before using ANY source of information from a book, to a website to an "expert" whom you interview.

Evaluating websites requires many of the same skills you use for evaluating books and journal, but you want to pay special attention to the authority and credibility the sites. Here are some resources to help you develop those skills.

The staff of the Mount Saint Vincent University Library & Archives wish to acknowledge and thank colleagues at the University of Oregon and the University of Louisville for their kind permission to copy the content from their critical evaluation guides.