CRAAP is a list of questions to ask yourself when deciding whether or not a source is reliable and credible enough to use in your academic research paper. CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.
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Who do you trust? What gives them authority?
There are many factors involved when trying to assess a source's authority. Think about why you trust the people you do. When looking at a source it is important to know if the author or publisher has the authority to write on this topic. This can be accomplished by checking on the author's credentials. Do they have the appropriate education, experience, and/or credentials to backup their statements? Here are some tips for checking authority:
In this class, you are the authority! As an author of a research paper or project, you have a stake in the topic. You already know something about the topic and are the authority on this subject in this classroom. What will give your work authority?
For more information on evaluating sources, check out the links below:
Everyone is influenced by their own experiences, opinions, cultures, and goals. This impacts every part of your life, even when you don't realize it, and it especially impacts the information you interact with daily. Acknowledging and assessing your biases will help you make informed research decisions based on evidence
Keep in mind that scholarly sources are not above bias. Researchers, authors, peer reviewers, and editors are just as susceptible to their own biases. Think about how this affects which articles are published, and which aren't. Academia in the United States is rooted primarily in Western, male-dominant ideologies, and research that does not support or conform to these structures are less likely to be published.
For more information on bias, check out the videos below:
Ask yourself these questions when trying to evaluate a source:
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