The CRAP method evaluates sources based on currency, reliability, authority, and perspective. It examines when a source was published, whether it can be trusted based on formatting, citations, and alignment with existing knowledge, the author's credentials and affiliations, and the author's angle and potential biases. The method helps assess the quality and usefulness of sources for research.

1. Resource
Assessment

2. The CRAP Method

3. ○ Currency
○ Reliability
○ Authority
○ Perspective

4. Currency: When Was It Published?
● Think about the context of your
research:
○ Sciences: generally newer is better (last
TEN years only)
○ Humanities: newness not paramount, but
when a work was published tells you a lot
about its context

5. Reliability: Can I Trust It?
● Is it formatted appropriately?
○ All sources cited or credited
○ No glaring spelling or grammar errors
● Are the author’s sources also trustworthy?
● Does it align at least nominally with work
that exists already and/or common sense?
● Is its main claim sensational or “too good to
be true”?

6. Authority: Who Created It?
● Do they know what they’re talking about?
● For scholarly work, check for author’s:
○ Credentials
○ Institute affiliations
○ Prior publications in the area
● Was this work put out by a respected
journal or book publisher?
● Is it peer reviewed?

7. Perspective: What’s the Author’s Angle?
● Are they striving for objectivity or only
presenting their personal opinion?
● Is the author clearly biased in one direction
or another?
● Who is paying them for this work? Are
there conflicts of interest that aren’t
apparent in the work itself?