Unit 4 TIP #2

Using the CRAAP test to determine the legitimacy of a website or source

I had never heard of the CRAAP test I have always just known to pay attention to the

website to make sure it is legit. However, this CRAAP test gave a detailed list of how to do just

that. The letters stand for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose. If you follow the

guide of these words it will help you make sure every website is useful or in my case not a scam

as I do a large amount of online shopping.

The first and possibly one of the most important things to pay attention to while doing

research is if the artifact is Current. If an artifact is not current it could make it a bad artifact.

This does not mean it was not once a wonderful artifact that was full of truthful information. As

my pastor once pointed out the truth can change. My grandfather's doctor told him smoking

was good for him, this will always be true. Yet the fact that smoking is good for you will not

always be true. That was what they believed to be true in those years, but after more research,

they learned it was not. This is why the currency of an article can be extremely important.

I group the three words relevance, authority, and accuracy as they are all similar in

meaning. Relevant means is this topic something that matters, then there's is authority. Who is

this writer and why do they have the authority to write this? Were they best friends with the

person they are writing about, are they the scientist who wrote this protocol? This person

needs to at the very least have an institution such as a school or a person who agrees that they

are informed enough to write this and share it publicly for you to feel safe using it for a school

project.
 Lastly is the purpose, why is this person or even an institution writing this. Most of the

time the journals are for education purposes whether it is for a student to get a grade or to get

a master's degree. This is still going to be something you should carefully look into and even

check out the sources THIS person used. Next could be a scientist trying to publish his findings

for other scientists to be able to use. Lastly could be the purpose of comedy or even to sell you

something, usually just reading the article will make it easy to find the purpose if it is not just to

be informative, but always be aware of hidden agendas and do not let them influence your

findings.

Work Cited

Evaluating Sources: The CRAAP Test. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2020, from
https://researchguides.ben.edu/source-evaluation

Important Announcement. (n.d.). Retrieved December 04, 2020, from

https://www.bu.edu/tech/support/information-security/security-for-everyone/how-to-
identify-and-protect-yourself-from-an-unsafe-website/

Karen Kane on October 27, 2. (2017, July 18). 9 Ways to Create a Cyber-Safe Classroom.
Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://www.weareteachers.com/9-ways-create-cyber-
safe-classroom/