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Evaluating information

Reflect

It is sometimes easy to find a lot of information on a topic, but how do you evaluate the quality of the information you have found?

Do you know how to evaluate the quality of information you find on a website, or from a Library database?

Learn

You should think carefully about the reliability of all information resources that you find before using them. This is particularly important if you decide to use non-traditional sources of information like blogs, social media posts, and websites.

The CRAAP test

The CRAAP test is a set of criteria that you can use to evaluate any information resource you find. CRAAP stands for:

C - Currency, R - Relevance, A - Authority, A - Accuracy, P - Purpose

Watch this video or read the criteria listed below for evaluating information resources

Currency

Most of the time you will want up-to-date information. In all cases consider the context, in some disciplines you may be looking for the historical perspective on a topic. When was the information written, produced or revised?

Social media sources like tweets are produced within minutes of an event occurring.
Journal articles are a responsive form of academic publishing and publish new research quickly.
Books take longer to publish so the information may not be up to date.

Relevance

When looking for information it is easy to get off track, always make sure that the information you are collecting fits your need. When you find information, think about whether it helps you to better understand and explain your topic. Look at the information presented, is it detailed or too superficial?

Authority

Check that the source of the information is credible. Does the author have the authority to write or speak about the topic?

Academic books and journal articles should indicate the affiliation of the author, such as the University or research institution they belong to.
Information published by a government department or professional institution is usually credible.
For other online information you might need to do some more in depth investigation.

Accuracy

Information may be easy to find, but is the information correct?

Look for verifiable facts or proof, to assess whether a source is accurate and suitable to use in assessment tasks.
Also check to see whether the author displays any bias, or whether they are likely to have a commercial or political interest in presenting a particular viewpoint.

Purpose

Consider the function of the information resource. Will it help you with your topic? Is the purpose to inform, teach or persuade? Ask yourself the following:

Is the purpose stated or obvious to you?
Does the author have a bias and how does that influence the information presented?
Be wary - there are always different opinions about any given issue

Apply

Your research topic is: "The impacts of bullying on high school students in Australia"

Q1 Which information resource is the most current?

A web page

CORRECT! Internet resources like Government websites are generally more current than books; a Web site should indicate the date it was last updated.

A book published in 1993 about education in Australian high schools

INCORRECT. A book published in 1993 will not be as current as most websites, although it may provide good background information.

Q2 Which information resource is the most relevant to this topic?

Chalmers, C, Campbell, MA, Spears, BA, Butler, D, Cross, D, Slee, P, & Kift, S 2016, 'School Policies on Bullying and Cyberbullying: Perspectives across Three Australian States', Educational Research, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 91-109.

CORRECT. The article title suggests that the topic of this research is bullying in schools.

Hanley, GM, & O'Rourke, A 2016, 'The race without a finishing line: Legislative means for confronting bullying in the Australian workplace', Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, vol. 54, no. 3, pp. 352-368.

INCORRECT. The article title suggests that the topic of this research is bullying in the workplace.

Q3 Which information resource is the most authoritative?

A peer reviewed journal article

CORRECT! Peer reviewed journal articles have been submitted to reputable journals and checked for accuracy by at least two other academics in that field of study.

An article published in a magazine

INCORRECT. Magazines are written by journalists, while they present a broad understanding of the topic, they are not as authoritative for academic purposes. Try again

Q4 Which information resource is the most accurate?

Statistics on a blog

INCORRECT. Statistics from a blog can lack accuracy and may have the most up to date figures

Statistics from a government website

CORRECT. Internet resources like Government web sites are generally more current than books; a Web site should indicate which date it was last updated.

Q5 Which information resource best suits the purpose of your topic (for an assessment task)?

Social media / Blog post

INCORRECT. Information you find on a blog is often intended to inform or persuade the reader about an opinion, a breaking news event / research findings. It is good for finding the most up to date information about a topic area, but is not necessarily good to use for your assessment tasks. Check your assessment criteria to see what information resources you should be using.

A peer reviewed journal article.

CORRECT. For assessment tasks you will usually be required to use journal articles from peer reviewed journals. Find peer reviewed journals using the Library search engine or a discipline specific Library database.