Use the CRAP test to evaluate any resources you want to use in your assessments.
Criteria | Ask Yourself | Example |
Currency |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
Use this simple test to check if your resources are appropriate and relevant for use in your assessments.
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.
|
Articles published in peer-reviewed (also known as refereed) journals have been through a formal approval process. An editor and one or more subject specialists review the article before it is accepted for publication. This process is intended to ensure that the article is accurate, well-researched, and contributes to the body of knowledge in the field.
Primo Search and some Journal Databases include an option to limit your search to scholarly or peer-reviewed articles, and some other databases include this information as part of an article record. While this is an indication that the article could be peer-reviewed, the definitive way to find out is to use Ulrichsweb Global Periodicals Directory.
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