Problem / Solution Research Paper: Evaluating Sources

What makes a source credible and high quality?

When evaluating a source to use in your research, use the CRAAP test:

• Currency: 
• When was the information published, updated, and/or revised?
• Is the information still current for the topic?
• Relevance (intended audience):
• How much information is presented (superficial or detailed)?
• Is the information related and relevant to your topic?
• Is the readership level appropriate (not too simple or sophisticated)?
• Authority:
• Who is the author and publisher/sponsor? 
• What are their credentials? Check credentials in an "About" page or search for information about the author and publisher/sponsor.
• Has the information been reviewed by editors or experts?
• Accuracy (verifiability): 
• Does the source match your understanding of the topic?
• Can you verify the claims in other sources?
• Is there a Bibliography/Works Cited list or sources mentioned within the text? If so, are their sources of high quality?
• Purpose (objectivity):
• Is the purpose stated?
• Is the topic approached from an objective standpoint (fact)?
• If subjective (opinion), is there any author's bias (special-interest point of view) and how might it influence the information presented?
• Were other views presented?

Looking at all of your sources together:

• Variety: Do you have a variety of source types (Database - Reference, Database - Magazine/Newspaper, Website, Digital Media, etc.)? Having a variety of sources helps to provide multiple perspectives and a range in scope of a topic.
• Quantity: Do you have enough articles to thoroughly understand your topic, addressing any specified subtopics or research questions? Avoid overreliance on any one source.

Using quality sources and citing them in a research project strenghtens your credibility.

*Borrowed from Downers Grove North Library. CRAAP originally developed by librarians at CSU Chico.

Don't use articles from content farms.

Content farm websites have a lot of articles on a variety of topics, but they are written by freelance writers who are paid very little and whose job is to generate ad revenue. The writers use keywords in their articles in order to attain high search engine rankings.

Here is an example of one of these articles. Click on the author: Cyberbullying and Its Effect on Teenagers

Here is a content farm cartoon that explains it pretty well...

List of the largest and most prevalent content farms.  

All Experts (allexperts.com)
Answers (answers.com)
Answer Bag (answerbag.com)
Articles Base (articlesbase.com)
Ask (ask.com)
Associated Content (associatedcontent.com)
BizRate (bizrate.com)
Buzle (buzzle.com)
Brothersoft (brothersoft.com)
Bytes (bytes.com)
ChaCha (chacha.com)
eFreedom (efreedom.com)
eHow (ehow.com)
Essortment (essortment.com)
Examiner (examiner.com)
Expert Village (expertvillage.com)
Experts Exchange (experts-exchange.com)
eZine Articles (ezinearticles.com)
Find Articles (findarticles.com)
FixYa (fixya.com)
Helium (helium.com)
Hub Pages (hubpages.com)
InfoBarrel (infobarrel.com)
Livestrong (livestrong.com)
Mahalo (mahalo.com)
Mail Archive (mail-archive.com)
Question Hub (questionhub.com)
Squidoo (squidoo.com)
Suite101 (suite101.com)
Twenga (twenga.com)
WiseGeek (wisegeek.com)
Wonder How To (wonderhowto.com)
Yahoo! Answers (answers.yahoo.com)
Xomba (xomba.com)