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. |
Reading critically
The Sage Research Methods Online database (SRMO) is a good source of full text electronic Books, chapters, and articles on a range of research methodologies. It includes a wide range of items in relation to literature review processes, and importantly how to read critically.
Examples are:
Goodwyn, A. & Stables, A. W. (2004). Learning to read critically: Learning to read critically in language and literacy . SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209410
Quinton, S. & Smallbone, T. (2006). How to read critically. In Sage Study Skills: Postgraduate research in business (pp. 81-96). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781849209564.n6
The type of domain provides you a hint as to the reliability of the website at which you are looking.
.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 can be biased toward one side of an issue that is actually quite complex. |
.com (commercial site) .net (network) |
Try to avoid these sites as they are likely to be unreliable. .net is the domain given to any site that doesn't fit into the other domain categories. |
If you find a .com or .net site that you think is ok, look at the currency, reliability, authority and purpose to see if your suspicion is supported by evidence.