The information you use in your research and study must all be credible if you want to achieve a high standard. Part of the Evidence-Based Practice process is to critically appraise scientific papers, but in general, all the resources you refer to should be evaluated carefully to ensure their credibility.
How can you tell whether the resources you've found are credible and suitable for you to reference? Have you been asked to use peer reviewed or refereed articles? Are you using authoritative websites?
The information below will help you to generally evaluate the information you find, in books, journal articles, or online.
Use the CRAP test to evaluate any resources you want to use in your assessments.
| Criteria | Ask Yourself | Example |
| Currency |
|
History of educational theories - older resources may be appropriate vs Social media in education - older resources may not be appropriate. |
| Reliability |
|
A satirical news website (e.g. Betoota Advocate) vs A not for profit media group sourcing content from academics and researchers (e.g. The Conversation). |
| Authority |
|
An article written by a self-appointed expert that appears on a blog vs A peer reviewed article written by a team of university academics. |
| Purpose |
|
A webpage on diabetes from a pharmacy company that produces drugs to treat diabetes. They may have a vested interest. vs Diabetes information from a government website such as Australian Institute of Health & Welfare (AIHW). They have no vested interest. |
Articles published in peer reviewed or refereed journals have been through a formal approval process. This process is intended to ensure that the article is:
To find peer reviewed articles:
However, as these options are just an indication of peer review status the definitive way to find out if your article has been peer reviewed is to use Ulrichsweb Global Periodicals Directory.
The website domain gives you an idea of the reliability of a website:
|
.edu (educational institution) .gov (government) |
These are more likely to be reliable and unbiased. |
|
.org (non-profit organisation) .asn (non-commercial organisation) |
Sometimes these organisations may show a bias toward one side of a topic. |
|
.com (commercial site) .net (network) |
Critically evaluate these sites as they may be unreliable.
|
Charles Sturt University acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which its campuses are located, paying respect to Elders, both past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples.
Charles Sturt University is an Australian University, TEQSA Provider Identification: PRV12018. CRICOS Provider: 00005F.
