Good digital research skills include the ability to sift through information, discerning: what is reliable, what is current, what suits your purpose and what is written with authority. There are also some useful pneumonics that can help us to remember the points we need to take into account.

1. EVALUATING
WEBSITES
Digital Literacy

2. Digital Research Skills: EvaluatingWebsites
Good digital research skills include the ability to sift through information, discerning:
o what is reliable,
o what is current,
o what suits your purpose and
o what is written with authority.
There are some pneumonics that can help us to remember the points we need to take
into account.

3. The C.R.A.P. test
This pneumonic is developed from the CRAAP test, which offers a list of questions to help
you evaluate the information you find.)
This is a way to evaluate a source based on four criteria:
You can apply some basic questions to help you assess each of the
above criteria

4. Currency
(timeliness of the information)
* How recent is the information?
* How recently has the website been updated?
* Is it current enough for your topic?

5. Reliability
(or correctness of the content)
* What kind of information is included in the resource?
* Is content of the resource primarily an opinion?
* Is it balanced?
* Does the creator provide references or sources for
data or quotations?

6. Authority
(the source of the information)
* Who is the creator or author of the site?
* What are the credentials of those responsible?
* Who is the publisher, source or sponsor?
* Are all of the above reputable?
* What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this
information?
* Are there advertisements on the website?

7. Purpose
or Point ofView
* Is the information fact or opinion?
* What is the purpose of the information? (to inform,
to educate, to persuade)
* Does the point of view seem biased or objective and
impartial?
* Is the creator/author trying to sell you something?

8. The R.E.A.L. test
Another easy guide for evaluating websites
Read the URL (domain name).
Examine the contents.
Ask about the author or owner and publisher.
Look at the links.

9. The R.E.A.L. test
Another easy guide for evaluating websites
• What can you tell from the common extensions?
Eg :com (commercial) .edu (educational) .gov (government) .org (non-profit
organization) .net (network) AND sites designations eg. .au (Aust), .uk (United
Kingdom)
• Are you on a personal page?
Read the URL (domain name).
Image: [CC-BY-SA] Frank is the logo "mascot" of the Twin Lakes Library System by Dread-
librarian (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia
Commons

10. The R.E.A.L. test
Another easy guide for evaluating websites
Examinethe contents.
• Can you understand it?
• Is it useful and does it relate to your topic?
• Have you cross-checked it for accuracy and reliability? Does it differ
from other information you have found elsewhere?
• Are additional resources and links provided? Do these links work?
• Is the site current
By David Vignoni - http://ftp.gnome.org/pub/GNOME/sources/gnome-themes-extras/0.9/gnome-themes-extras-0.9.0.tar.gz, LGPL,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=739586

11. The R.E.A.L. test
Another easy guide for evaluating websites
Askabout the author and/or
owner and publisher.
o Is there any biographical information?
o Can you contact the author?
oWhat expertise do they have?
o Do they seem to be an expert?
oWhat kinds of results do you see when you do a search on the auth
name?
CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1102314

12. The R.E.A.L. test
Another easy guide for evaluating websites
Look at the links.
• Are these relevant?
• Where do they take you?
• What are the URLs of these links?
• Do the domain names change?
• Why are they linked?
By https://pixabay.com/en/users/PublicDomainPictures-14/ -
https://pixabay.com/en/cartoon-eyes-look-looking-anatomy-313457/, CC0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44301301

13. Bibliography for evaluating websites
"Evaluating Sources - Use the C.R.A.P.Test!" Amy E. Gratz. Mercer University, 08 July 2015.Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
<https://libraries.mercer.edu/research-tools-help/citation-tools-help/evaluating-sources>.
"LibGuides: CRAPTest: Evaluating Websites" South Mountain Community College Library, 29 Feb. 2016. Web. 07
Sept. 2016. <http://libguides.southmountaincc.edu/CRAPtest>.
"LibGuides: Evaluating Web Pages: Questions to Consider: Categories ." Cornell University Library, 10 Aug. 2016.
Web. 11 Sept. 2016. <http://guides.library.cornell.edu/evaluating_Web_pages>.
McKenzie, Jamie. "Comparing & EvaluatingWeb Information Sources." Comparing & EvaluatingWeb Information
Sources. FNO Press, June 1997. Web. 07 July 2015. <http://fromnowon.org/jun97/eval.html>.
Oddone, Kay. "Getting ?REAL? withWeb Evaluation ?Tips andTools to Develop Information Literacy."
LinkingLearning. Kay Oddone., 02 Mar. 2015. Web. 07 July 2016.
<https://linkinglearning.wordpress.com/2014/10/03/getting-real-with-web-evaluation-tips-and-tools-to-develop-
information-literacy/>.
Schrock, Kathy. "Critical Evaluation." Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. N.p., 09 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Sept. 2016.
<http://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html>.

14. The C.A.R.P. test
A third easy guide for evaluating websites
What point would you put in under each of these headings?