How To: Academic Research

It is important to thoroughly evaluate where you are getting your information, whether that be a book, research article, website, news story, or any other source. This process allows you to understand what is behind the information being presented so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to accept or use the materials. These are the things to be looking for:

• Authority
  Who is the source of the information? What are their qualifications? What are their affiliations? 
   
• Accuracy
  Are sources given? How was it found? Can you verify statements using other sources?
   
• Purpose
  What is the stated or implicit purpose? Entertainment, commercial use, a conversational forum, advertisement, propaganda, informative, advocacy, outreach, scholarly research, education, or something else?
   
• Content
  What is being provided? Opinions, facts, subjective statements, objective statements, or perhaps a combination?
   
• Bias
  Is there a bias to the information or viewpoints being presented? If so, does it impact the accuracy of the information?
   
• Currency
  Look at how often the source is being updated; depending on the type of information, this may or may not be important.

The CRAAP Test is another way to look at information sources for evaluation purposes. 

• Currency
  When was the information published? Is it current? Does it need to be current? 
   
• Relevance
  How much does the information relate to the topic? Who is the intended audience and is it at a level appropriate for your needs?
   
• Authority
  Who wrote/published the article? What are their credentials? Are they qualified?
   
• Accuracy
  Where did the author get their information? Is it supported by evidence? Can it be verified using another source? Are there errors in spelling, grammar, etc.?
   
• Purpose
  What is the purpose for the information being presented? Is it for educational purposes, researchers, entertainment, etc.? Does it appear to have bias or come from a source that may have bias? Is the information being presented a fact, opinion, or otherwise?

Evaluating Information Sources

• Critically Analyzing Information Sources (Cornell University Library)
• Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test (CSU, Chico)
• Evaluate and Choose Quality Sources (Portland State University)
• Evaluating Information Found on the Internet (Johns Hopkins University)
• Wikipedia (Find out More About Wikipedia and It's Strengths and Weaknesses as a Research Tool, from the U Pittsburgh Library)
• Evaluating Sources (video from Columbia State Community College)
• Evaluating Sources for Credibility (video from North Carolina State University)

Evaluating Websites

• Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Consider (Cornell University Library)
• Website Evaluation Guide from EasyBib
• Website Evaluation Checklist: Created by the University of Maryland, College Park, this checklist is an interactive Google Doc that allows you to evaluate websites based on appropriate criteria.
• Web Evaluation Practice (Developed by 21st Century Information Fluency)

Use this tutorial to learn about evaluating online sources of information. 

The focus of this tutorial is identifying credible sources of information.

Evaluating information is not limited to websites and text sources, images and videos can also be manipulated or misrepresented. This video outlines how to use a Reverse Image Search to evaluate and verify images found online.