Evaluating information is an important part of the research process. Whilst searching for information you will gather a large amount of materials from many different sources. It is particularly useful when your search retrieves lots of different articles and is a good way of distinguishing which are more relevant to your research question. It is also a useful way of assessing whether the information is at an appropriate level for academic work.
Here are some useful articles to help you with evaluating research.
The Centre for Evidence Based Medicine at the University of Oxford have written an introduction to critical appraisal
Health Knowledge: provides a list of useful questions to consider when critiquing a piece of research.
CASP: this is a popular framework for critical appraisal presenting a series of questions to consider depending upon the study type.
BestBets: you can search BestBets for pre-appraised journal articles and real life researchable questions.
Centre for evidence based medicine : a good introduction to critical appraisal
NHS Choices: Behind the Headlines. A guide on appraising the research behind the news headlines. Really good for finding pre-appraised articles.
CRAAP is a method of evaluating the quality of information, primarily websites. You can find out more about CRAAP in this video made by Western Libraries, and there's a check list in the next box down.
Searching on the web can bring back some really useful looking results that may sometimes be used to supplement other information you've found. However, it is often difficult to know whether the information is from a reliable source.
The following is a list of questions known as the CRAAP test which you can use to determine whether information found on the web is accurate and reliable. Use them to decide whether the information you've found is suitable for referencing, or whether you need to find an alternative source.
If in doubt, don't cite it!
Currency: The timeliness of the web page
When was the information gathered?
When was it posted?
When was it last revised/ updated?
Relevance? Coverage: The uniqueness of the content and its importance for your needs.
What is the depth and breadth of the information presented?
Could you find the same or better information elsewhere?
Who is the intended audience?
Authority: The source of the web page.
Who is the author/ creator/ sponsor?
Are the author's qualifications/ experience outlined?
Is there contact information?
Does the URL give anything away e.g. does it end with .gov (a government website) or .com (possibly a commercial website)?
Accuracy: Reliability and correctness of the content.
Where does the information come from?
Are the original sources of information listed?
Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
Purpose: The presence of bias or prejudice/the reason the web site exists.
Are biases clearly stated?
Is the purpose of the page clearly stated?
Is the purpose to: inform? teach? entertain? enlighten? sell?
Modified from the CRAAP Test created by Meriam Library at California State University, Chico.
