Evaluating Tertiary Resources
It's important to evaluate any resources you find on the web, especially when looking for information for a class assignment. Use the test below to make sure the information you found it worth handing in to your professor!
When using this test you can see an article from a reputable news source like NPR will be a better source than a blog article from someone's personal website. Remember to keep all of these factors in mind while searching for tertiary articles.
Using the CRAAP Test
- Currency
- Relevance
- Authority
- Accuracy
- Purpose
You want to make sure all the resources you are looking at can stand up to this test. Weight each article/website you find against the criteria to see if it would pass the CRAAP test and be a good, reliable resource for you to use in an assignment.
Something needs to pass all 5 steps to be considered a good, reliable resources. Just because something is accurate, doesn't mean its authoritative. Look for a resources that will easily pass the test to use.