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Lansing Community College Library

English 124 - Technical Writing: Evaluating Information

Find reliable and credible sources for your English 124 assignments.

CRAAP Test - Evaluation Criteria

Evaluate your information using the CRAAP test. Based on what you discover, go back, brainstorm, and do more research.

Currency
How new (or old) is the information? 
Is the information out of date for your topic?
Relevance
Does the information address your topic, thesis and supporting arguments? 
Is it at an appropriate level (i.e not too elementary or too advanced?)
Authority
Who wrote the information? Individual or institution? Are they credible?
Are the author's credentials or qualifications given?
Is there author's contact information?
Accuracy
Is the information consistent with other sources? 
Does the information seem biased?
Are there spelling or grammar mistakes?
Purpose
Why was the information created? To persuade? To educate? To sell something?
Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions clear?
Are there political, cultural, institutional or personal biases and opinions?

Evaluating Overview

Why Evaluate Your Sources?

This video from the LCC research database Films On Demand  is available to current students and employees. 

Although searching online for information is easy, we have to be careful to analyze and evaluate the information to ensure it is accurate, factual and free of bias.