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History of Christian Church

Does your website of choice pass the CRAAP test?

Ask yourself the following questions about each website you're considering:

Currency: Timeliness of the information

  • How recent is the information?
  • Can you locate a date when the page(s) were written/created/updated?
  • Are the links functional?
  • In regards to your topic, is it current enough?

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs

  • Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
  • Is the information at an appropriate level (not too elementary or advanced)?
  • How does it compare with other sources you have looked at?

Authority: The source of the information

  • Can you determine who the author/creator is?
  • Is there a way to contact them?
  • What are their credentials (education, affiliation, experience, etc.)?
  • Is there evidence they're experts on the subject?
  • Who is the publisher or sponsor of the site?

Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of content

  • Is it arranged logically and consistently?
  • Has it been either peer reviewed or cited elsewhere?
  • Can you verify any of the information in another source?
  • Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
  • Are there spelling, grammar or other typographical errors?

Purpose / Point of View: The reason the information exists

  • Based on the writing style, who is the intended audience? 
  • What's the intent of the website (to persuade, to sell you something, etc.)?
  • What is the domain (.edu, .org, .com, .gov etc.)? How might that influence the purpose/point of view?
  • Are there ads on the website? How do they relate to the topic being covered (e.g., an ad for ammunition next to an article about firearms legislation)?
  • Is the author presenting fact or opinion?
  • Who might benefit from a reader believing this website?

By scoring each category on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 = worst, 10=best possible) you can give each site a grade on a 50 point scale for how high-quality it is!

45 - 50 Excellent | 40 - 44 Good | 35 - 39 Average | 30 - 34 Borderline Acceptable | Below 30 - Unacceptable

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Malony, A. (2019). Media Bias Handout. https://www.oercommons.org/editor/images/18236