Evaluating Websites as Scholarly Sources

Irene Stewart; Aaron Maisonville; Nikolai Zriachev

And #11 Successful Students Learn Independently

17 Evaluating Websites as Scholarly Sources

Is this webpage credible?

There are several factors to questions you can ask when determining if a source is credible:

When was the information published?
Who is the intended audience?
Where did the information come from?
Do you trust the source?
Can the information be verified in other reliable sources?
Why was this information created?
Does it seek to inform, provide facts, to sell, or to persuade you of something?
Is there evidence of political, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
Is the information objective and impartial?

It is always recommended to use multiple sources and to check their credibility and reliability before using them in your work.

To make remembering the factors to consider when evaluating sources, you can use the CRAAP test. A short video presents the CRAAP test below.

Hot Tip: If your assignment requires a specific number of references, consider at least three times that number before choosing the ones you will include in your assignment. For example, if you must supply 3 scholarly sources, scan over at least 9 sources and choose the best three for your topic.

Example from Irene:

I was searching for information about what documents a traveler would need when visiting Canada. I found a webpage from the Government of Canada. I know I can trust information from the Government of Canada.

Screenshot by Irene Stewart

I scrolled down to the bottom of the page as I did not see a date. The bottom of the page indicated that this material was last updated on March 1, 2023. This is up-to-date information.

Bottom of the Stay in Canada as a vistor page with the date modified highlighted. — Screenshot by Irene Stewart

This page did not have the information I was specifically looking for but instead of leaving this credible, timely website, I search using more specific words to find the information I was looking for regarding the documents one would need to visit Canada.

Screenshot of Visit Canada webpage and with information about documents needed hightlighted. — Screenshot by Irene Stewart

Government of Canada. (2023). Visit Canada.

8 Tips for Evaluating Websites

Scholarly vs Popular Sources

The CRAPP Test

CRAAP Test Exercise

Key Takeaways

Evaluating websites as scholarly sources is essential for academic research to ensure credibility and reliability.Factors to consider when determining a source’s credibility include:
a. Publication date: Check when the information was published to ensure it’s up-to-date.
b. Intended audience: Identify who the target audience is to understand the source’s purpose.
c. Source origin: Determine where the information came from and if it can be trusted.
d. Verification: Look for information that can be cross-referenced with other reliable sources.
e. Purpose: Analyze why the information was created (to inform, provide facts, sell, or persuade).
f. Biases: Assess if there are any political, religious, institutional, or personal biases.
g. Objectivity: Evaluate if the information is presented objectively and impartially.
Using the CRAAP test (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) is a helpful method for evaluating sources’ credibility.
It’s recommended to use multiple sources and check their credibility and reliability before using them in academic work.
When searching for sources, consider looking at least three times the required number of references to choose the most suitable ones for your topic.

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Want More? The Learning Portal has information on Evaluating Evidence in their Health Sciences Research section.

License

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A Guide for Successful Students 2nd ed. Copyright © 2023 by Irene Stewart, Aaron Maisonville, and Nicolai Zriachev, St. Clair College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.