All information found online should be critically evaluated because there is no guarantee that it is reliable or accurate.
Use this four-part test (PDF) to determine the suitability of information you want to use.
Currency (Is the information up-to-date?)
- How recent is the information?
- How recently has the website been updated?
- Is the website modified regularly?
- Is the information current enough for your research?
Checklist for up-to-date information
- Site or page date
- Is the date of publication or last revision published (often at the bottom of the page)?
- When was the site or page last updated?
- Is the information out-of-date?
Reliability (Is the information trustworthy?)
- Is this web page intended for elementary or high school students?
- If so, is it the best site to refer to when writing a university-level research paper?
- Has the information passed through any peer reviewing process?
- Sources?
- Has the author(s) documented his/her sources by including a reference list?
- Is the information reproduced from another site. If so, which one?
- If applicable, when were the sources published?
Checklist for reliable information
- Evidence of the peer review process (e.g., in an "About us" or editorial statement)
- A bibliography or reference list
Authority (Is the author credible?)
- Who is the creator or author of the website or web page
- E.g., a recognized individual or organization/government?
- What are his/her/its credentials
- E.g., is the individual author or organization known in the field?
- Has the author published other material(s)?
- Does the author provide contact information (e.g., email address or phone number) in case you want to verify the information?
- Who is the publisher or sponsor?
- Can you determine if he/she/the organization has a good reputation?
- Can you determine if he/she/the organization has a good reputation?
Checklist for authoritative information
- Author's credentials
- Look for information about the author of the site or page.
- Is the author qualified to publish on this topic?
- E.g, Can you identify the author's education and relevant professional experience?
- Look up the author's name using the library home page search tool or on Wikipedia.
- Is the author qualified to publish on this topic?
- Look for information about the author of the site or page.
- URL
- Read the uniform resource locator (URL) carefully to determine if you are reading someone's personal page.
- You need to investigate the author carefully because personal pages have no publisher or domain owner to vouch for the information.
- Read the uniform resource locator (URL) carefully to determine if you are reading someone's personal page.
- Domain
- Is the domain extension appropriate for the content?
- Government sites: .gov
- Educational sites: edu
- Nonprofit organizations: .org
- Is the domain extension appropriate for the content?
- Publisher
- Identify the publisher (individual or organization) of the site or page.
- The publisher operates the server computer from which the site or page is issued. Do you know anything about the publisher?
- Identify the publisher (individual or organization) of the site or page.
- "About us" links
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- This could be under "about us," "philosophy," "background," or "bibliography" tabs.
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- Page design or structure
- Page design is not always an indicator of credibility but if a site or page is easy to navigate, you'll be able to assess the information more easily.
Purpose/Point of view (Is the information objective?)
- What is the purpose or point of view of the site?
- Is the information primarily fact or opinion?
- Does the point of view seem balanced and/or objective (e.g., presents more than one perspective)?
- What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?
- Does the site try to persuade, advocate, entertain, or sell a product?
Checklist for objective information
- "About us" links
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- This could be under "about us" or "philosophy", "background" or "bibliography" tabs.
- Is there advertising?
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- Cross reference information
- Try to verify the information by cross referencing the material.
- Look up some of the references in Google Scholar (through the Carleton University Library).
- Try to verify the information by cross referencing the material.
Complete CRAP test checklist
Currency
- Site or page date
- Is the date of publication or last revision published (often at the bottom of the page)?
- When was the site or page last updated?
Reliability
- Evidence of the peer review process (e.g., in an "About us" or editorial statement)
- A bibliography or reference list
Authority
- Author's credentials
- Look for information about the author of the site or page.
- Is the author qualified to publish on this topic?
- E.g, Can you identify the author's education and relevant professional experience?
- Look up the author's name using the library home page search tool or Wikipedia.
- Is the author qualified to publish on this topic?
- Look for information about the author of the site or page.
- URL
- Read the uniform resource locator (URL) carefully to determine if you are reading someone's personal page.
- You need to investigate the author carefully because personal pages have no publisher or domain owner to vouch for the information.
- Read the uniform resource locator (URL) carefully to determine if you are reading someone's personal page.
- Domain
- Is the domain extension appropriate for the content?
- Government sites: .gov
- Educational sites: edu
- Nonprofit organizations: .org
- Is the domain extension appropriate for the content?
- Publisher
- Identify the publisher (individual or organization) of the site or page.
- The publisher operates the server computer from which the site or page is issued. Do you know anything about the publisher?
- Identify the publisher (individual or organization) of the site or page.
- "About us" links
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- This could be under "about us," "philosophy," "background," or "bibliography" tabs.
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- Page design or structure
- Page design is not always an indicator of credibility but if a site or page is easy to navigate, you'll be able to assess the information more easily.
Purpose/Point of view
- "About us" links
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- This could be under "about us" or "philosophy", "background" or "bibliography" tabs.
- Is there advertising?
- Read the information on the site or page about the author and/or publisher.
- Cross reference information
- Try to verify the information by cross referencing the material.
- Look up some of the references in Google Scholar (through the Carleton University Library).
- Try to verify the information by cross referencing the material.
The original CRAP test is courtesy of the University of Waterloo.
More information: Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask (University of California Berkley).