If you find a website that you think might be useful for your assignment, use this list as an evaluation tool.
Currency
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose
The CRAAP test was originally created by librarians at Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
Scholarly Journals | Popular Magazines | |
Authors | Articles are written by authorities in the field | Articles are usually written by professional writers or journalists |
Sources | Authors cite their sources in endnotes, footnotes, or bibliographies | There are rarely bibliographies |
Audience | Aimed at scholarly readers (researchers, professors, or students) | Aimed at general population |
Publisher | Often published by academic or association presses | Published by commercial (for profit) presses |
Advertisements | Contains few to no advertisements | Contain numerous advertisements |
Peer-review? | Most articles are reviewed by an author’s peers before publication to ensure high quality | Rare |
Article scope | Journals usually have a narrow subject focus, and articles often include original research, reviews, or essays | Used to inform, update, or introduce a topic to a general reader |
Graphics | Illustrations often consist of charts or graphs | Numerous colorful illustrations and/or photographs are usually present |
Language | Articles use jargon of the discipline | Language is geared to general population; no special knowledge is required |
Examples | American Journal of Botany, The Academy of Management Journal, Social Research | Runner's World, Ebony, Time |
If you have a journal or article and you need to check if it is peer reviewed, use the Ulrich's Periodical Directory database.