ENG101 Library Research Strategy

Whenever you are in doubt if a book or article is scholarly, apply the criteria listed below to the work in question.  This CRAAP Test will help determine if you have found a scholarly work.

The 5 criteria of the CRAAP Test:

• Currency: When was the article or content written? Is it current, timely? Is it out of date? Could the information be written in a historic context? 
• Relevance: Is the information appropriate for the topic? Who is the intended audience? 
• Authority: Who wrote the article? Professionals in the field? General public? What are the author's credentials? 
• Accuracy: Could the magazine article information be verified through other sources?
• Purpose: Is someone trying to persuade the audience to see a point of view or opinion? Is the information provided to promote or sell a product?  Is the information fact or opinion?

The video below will help explain the CRAAP Test. (Skip any beginning ads/commercials.)

-- created by BMS LMC

The URL of a website can tell you a lot about the type of information you will find there. 

Do you know the difference between a .COM and .GOV URL?

These sites should never be used for scholarly or academic research:

• Blogs
• Answer pages
• Wiki pages

REMEMBER: No one is policing the web to make sure everything on the web is accurate or true.