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CRAAP* is an acronym for remembering criteria you need to use when evaluating information.
|
C |
Currency |
When was the information published or last updated? |
|
R |
Relevance |
Does the information answer your research questions appropriately? How does it help you? Who is the intended audience? |
|
A |
Authority |
Who are the authors and what are their credentials? |
|
A |
Accuracy |
Was the piece reviewed by editors or scholars? Is there supporting evidence? Can you verify the accuracy of the information? Is there a bibliography or list of cited sources? |
|
P |
Purpose |
Is the author’s purpose to sell, persuade, entertain, or inform? Is the information or author biased? Do the authors make their intentions clear? |
*CRAAP acronym and descriptions created by the Meriam Library at CSU, Chico. (http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/evalsites.html)
| Criteria | Popular | Scholarly | Trade | Grey Literature |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose/Intent | To inform, entertain, or persuade about current events or popular opinion and to make money | To inform, report, or make available original research, promote scholarly communication, or advance knowledge | To provide news, trends, or practical information or examine problems or concerns in a particular field, trade, or industry | To disseminate research quickly or respond to a public issue |
| Audience | General public | Scholars, researchers, and students of specific discipline or field | Practitioners of a particular field, trade, or industry | Professionals and researchers in the same field or industry and/or policymakers |
| Creator | Professional writers, journalists, freelance writers or creators that deal with a variety of topics regularly | Scholars or researchers with extensive credentials and experience in the specific discipline or field and usually associated with a university or other organization | Professionals or freelance writers or creators with experience in a particular field, trade, or industry | Individual scholars, government agencies, non-profit organizations and institutions, businesses, and think tanks but not through traditional publishers |
| Language/Tone | Entertaining, non-technical language | Specialized terminology or jargon from the specific discipline or field | Specialized terminology or jargon used in the field or industry | Specialized terminology or jargon used in the field or industry |
| References/Citations | Sources rarely cited | Sources always cited | Sources occasionally, but not usually cited. This depends on the publication. | Sources are typically, but not always cited |
| Accountability | Content not evaluated by experts in the field; often published or produced by commercial organizations | Usually reviewed and critically evaluated by a subject expert or board of subject experts (peer review); published or produced by a scholarly organization or society (university, association, commercial enterprise, etc.) | Content may be evaluated by experts in the field; often published or produced by a trade association | Expert review differs for different kinds of grey literature. Many may not be reviewed at all |
For a printable version of this chart, you can view the University Libraries' Tutorial page.
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