7.5: Evaluating Sources

There are five parts to the CRAAP Test:

• CURRENCY: When was the information published? Is it considered current for the topic? For many topics, research would be considered out-dated if it is from two years ago. However, for some topics, it is acceptable (or even necessary) to use an older source. For example, if you want to provide a definition of DNA, you can use a source that was published five or ten years ago whereas in a paper on the latest DNA discoveries, a five-year-old source would be too old.
• RELEVANCE: Does this information meet your needs? Is it relevant for the purpose of your research? For example, an article aimed at educating young children about DNA would probably not be a relevant source if you work for a tech firm and are writing a report about whether to acquire some DNA technology. On the other hand, it is acceptable to use a source that isn’t fully relevant to your research question, but only if you can make it more relevant through added analysis. For example, if you were researching security issues in mobile adhoc networks, you might read about the ways in which other network types have been dealt with security issues.
• AUTHORITY: Who wrote the research material? Your source should have been written by someone who has the authority to speak on the matter. To determine how trustworthy an online source is, you can also look at the URL. If it comes from a .gov or .edu website, you can probably trust it, but even such sources should be verified. Check to make sure you are not citing from a compromised source (such as a paper on environmental matters produced in a university department funded by the oil industry, for instance).
• ACCURACY: How reliable or trustworthy is the information? Specifically, you should examine how the source uses evidence. Does the source link to other trustworthy sources? Does the source support its claims with evidence? How reliable is that evidence? Can you validate its claims through other sources?
• PURPOSE: Why was this information published? You should be able to identify if/how the author/ publisher benefited from publishing this information. Sources that make money aren’t necessarily untrustworthy, but they might not provide sophisticated enough content for your needs. Be sure to investigate this thoroughly.

There are four steps in the SIFT Test:

• STOP: As you find a link/ page/ post, STOP and ask yourself whether you know the website or source of information. What is its reputation? If you don’t have that information, use the next moves to get more clarity. Don’t read or share anything until you know what it is. As you start applying the next steps, don’t forget your purpose. If you just want to repost, read an interesting story, or get a high-level explanation of a concept, it’s probably good enough to find out whether the publication is reputable. If you are doing deep research of your own, you may want verify each individual claim made in the text from other sources to independently verify them. Both sorts of investigations are useful, and for both, stopping periodically and reevaluating our purpose and search strategy is key.
• INVESTIGATE the Source: Make sure you know what you are reading before you read it. For instance, if you are reading a piece on climate change by a well-regarded environmentalist, you should know that before you read it; if you are watching a video on the many benefits of green technology that was put out by a manufacturer of solar panels, you should know that as well. Knowing the expertise and agenda of the source is crucial to your interpretation of what they say. Taking a minute to investigate the source before reading will help you decide if it is worth your time and, if it is, help you to better understand its credibility.
• FIND Trusted Coverage: Sometimes you might not be concerned about the source as much as the claim being made. You want to know if it is true or false. You want to know if it represents a consensus viewpoint or not. In this case, your best strategy may be to ignore the source you had initially found and look for trusted reporting or analysis on the claim. You might want to find the best source you can on this topic, or, just as importantly, to scan multiple sources and see what the expert consensus seems to be. Do you have to agree with the consensus once you find it? Not necessarily. Still, understanding the context and history of a claim will help you better evaluate it and better define your starting point for future investigation.
• TRACE Claims, Quotes, and Media Back to the Original Source: Much of what we find on the Internet has been stripped of context.  Maybe a claim is made about a new medical treatment based on a research finding, but you are not sure if the cited research paper really said that. In these cases, you will have to trace the claim, quote, or media back to the source so that you can see it in its original context and ascertain if the version you saw was accurately presented.