C.R.A.A.P.

Here is that great song:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ8ajc5FrT8
(If you weren't here, listen to it on your own.)

Some information from the song --
"Just 'cause you Google it doesn't mean it's true."
How old is what you see?
Is it appropriate?
What type of info fits your assignments?
Is it legitimate?
Is the information true?
Who gets the benefit?

C.R.A.A.P. : Fighting the Fake 
We use the CRAAP Test to figure out whether or not a website or other source of information is reliable (trustworthy) and whether or not it will be useful for what we're trying to do. 

Website Elements that help you apply the C.R.A.A.P. Test

• URL Bar -- the address bar (also location bar)     -- purpose and authority
• Name of the website  -- accuracy and authority
• Name of the author  -- accuracy and authority
• Navigation Bar -- authority and purpose
• About -- authority and purpose
• Mission Statement -- relevance, authority, and purpose 
• Links -- -- test them -- currency, authority, and accuracy
• Advertisements -- purpose 
• Citations -- currency, authority, accuracy   (bibliographies) 

These are the things you check when using the CRAAP Test: 

Currency: Timeliness of information  (how new? how current?)
     in a book you'll often see a copyright symbol
    You might see a copyright symbol on a website.  It will usually be found at the very bottom of the page.  How current is it? 
    Is there a date the site or a part of the site was last updated? 

     Do the links still work?
     Where do the links go?

     Can you find the date the information was published?
     Can you find a copyright date?
     Do the links work?  and where do they take you?


Relevance: Importance of information for our research needs 
Does this site provide the information I need?
Does this site provide the scope of information needed? 
Is it at my reading and understanding level?

Authority: Source of Information 
Who is the Author?
Who is the Publisher?
Who is the Owner of the website - person or organization?

Who is responsible for the website content?
Are the author's credentials listed? 
Credentials -- let you know what makes them knowledgeable about this topic --
identifies them as an expert in that field

Accuracy 
Reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

Can I verify this somewhere else?
Are there spelling and grammar errors?


Purpose
(the reason the information exists)

Check the DOMAIN
.gov: government
.mil: military
.edu: education
.org: organization
.com: commercial
.net: network

Purposes include --
to inform or teach
to entertain
to persuade
to sell

Another aspect of purpose is bias.  Bias means the authors or publishers lean to one side or another about a debatable issue. 
For instance, if you go to a site that sells energy drinks, they would want you to think that energy drinks won't hurt you.  They might even show you studies that say energy drinks are good for you. 
They are biased toward one side of the question "Are energy drinks healthful or harmful?"
On the other hand, a site published by a doctor's organization might tell you that energy drinks are harmful, and would include studies that prove that drinking them can damage your health.  That site is biased toward the opposite side from the one the energy drink company takes. 

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In October we looked at this question:
Question:  Should we start school later?

We examined this site together to determine whether it would be a useful and reliable source.
http://time.com/4741147/school-start-time/
Currency -- When was it published?
Is there a copyright date?

Are there links that work?
Do the links tell where the information comes from?

Relevance -- Does it answer your question?

Authority-- Who wrote it?  Does it tell you more about that person?
Who published it?
Is he or she an expert on the subject?  If not, is that person telling you she got the information?

Accuracy --
What is the domain?
Does it generally sound right?
Are there any spelling or other grammar errors?

Purpose --
Why has this been published?
What are they trying to do?

How biased is it? 

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Here is a direct link to the sites we used:  https://afjh.alpineschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/10/CRAAP-TEST-Practice-Websites-2.0.pdf