LibGuides: Evaluating Sources: Evaluating Articles

Evaluating Articles

The CRAAP Test applied to articles

(scholarly, magazine, newspaper, or trade)

Modified from Colorado State University Libraries

C: Currency

Currency

Date of Article: Some topics, such as those about current events or technology, require current information. Other subjects, such as geology, value older material as well as current.

The date on articles is usually located under the article title or look at the citation if the article is found in a library database.

Know the time needs of your topic and examine the timeliness of the article; is it:

up-to-date,
out-of-date, or
timeless / current has no impact on information

A: Accuracy

Accuracy

How to determine if the information is correct: Become your own fact-checker. Look for:

facts and statistics that are documented (referenced) and originate from high-quality sources
information that is verified or found in other sources
is the page well-written
author and publication information that is easy to find and their authority is easy to determine
any bias tone or emotional or politicized language

Online fact-checking sites can be great tools to help determine the accuracy of a source, claim, or statement.

R: Relevance

Relevance

Does the information relate to my thesis statement or general topic? Information from an article is not going to be helpful if it does not address the topic at hand or if it is too general. Ask, "does this provide new information"? If it is useful, does it:

support or refute an argument
provide well researched, detailed information
address a topic from a certain point of view or timeframe

P: Purpose

Purpose

What is the Type? Articles from different types of sources serve different purposes. Newspaper articles report on current events (local/national/global), magazine articles report on current issues and are written to inform an audience about a topic, trade journals are magazines written for a specific profession or trade, scholarly journal articles report on scholarly research in academic disciplines.

What is the Purpose?

persuade the reader to do something?
- For example: vote a certain way, purchase an item, attend an event
inform the reader?
- For example: results of a study/experiment, what happened at an event
prove something?
- For example: scientific inquiry, examine that a behavior is bad/good, or prove a method works/doesn't work

A: Authority

Authority

Who is the author & do they have authority (knowledge/experience) to write on the topic: Is the author an expert in this field? Can you easily find information and credentials about the author? Can you find information about the magazine/newspaper/publisher? Is information about the publisher transparent? What else has he/she/the publisher written? Can you identify biases? Places to look for this information are:

"About Us" on the webpage
Click on the author's name, if applicable
Google/web search the author AND the publication or source

Periodical Types

Magazines, journals, scholarly, popular, peer-reviewed...?? If you've ever run across any or a combination of these terms and needed clarification on their distinct meanings, this page aims to provide it.

Scholarly Journals

Trade Journals

Popular Magazines

Newspapers

Examples

Social Psychology Quarterly

Advertising Age

Time

New York Times

Content

Primary account of original research; In-depth analyses of issues in the field; Articles often include abstract, method, discussion, tables, conclusion, and references

Current news, trends, or products in an industry or professional organization; Statistics, forecasts, employment and career information

Current events and news; General information with purpose to entertain or inform; Analyses of popular culture; Secondary account of someone else's research that may include opinion

Current events and news that may be local, regional, national or international; Ads, editorials, speeches; Primary source for information on events

Language

Academic, technical jargon that uses the language of the discipline; Requires some relevant expertise

Specialized jargon or terminology of the field; Written for practitioners/professionals

Easily understandable, non-technical language; Written for the layperson

Written for a general audience; Understandable language

Authors

Researchers, scholars, professors, etc.

Practitioners in the field, industry professionals, or journalists with subject expertise

Journalists or staff writers

References

References, footnotes or bibliographies are always included

References in text or short bibliographies are occasionally included

References are rarely included

Rarely cite sources in full

Editors

Journal's editorial board, or if peer-reviewed, external scholars in the same field

Work for the publisher

Publishers

Universities, scholarly presses, or academic organizations

Commercial publishers or trade and professional organizations

Commercial publishers

Example Databases

Academic Search Premier, JSTOR, Sociological Abstracts, Historical Abstracts

ABI Inform, Business Source Premier, ERIC, SPORTDiscus

Readers Guide Abstracts, Academic OneFile, Academic Search Premier

LexisNexis Academic, Access World News, Library Press Display

Peer-reviewed journal articles vs. scholarly journal articles
Not all scholarly journal articles are peer-reviewed. However, all peer-reviewed articles (aka refereed articles) are scholarly.

What is peer-review?
Peer-review refers to the rigorous process that articles undergo before they may be published. Other scholars in the author's field or discipline review and evaluate the article for quality and validity. If lacking, the article may be rejected, but otherwise, the article is accepted, often with suggestions for revision.