Library Liaison
What makes a good source?
You can find excellent, high-quality evidence in a variety of places, including library databases.
If you choose to find a source outside a library database (like on Google), evaluate it to see if it is a credible source using the CRAAP test:
- Currency - is the source the most current information?
- Relevance - is the source relevant to your research question?
- Authority - is the author/source/creator an authority on this topic?
- Accuracy - is the information cited, or backed up? Is it verifiable?
- Purpose - does the source appear to have an ulterior motive or bias?
What makes a bad source?
- Opinion
- Blogs
- Unverifiable (cannot be confirmed by a second source, provides no evidence or data for their conclusions)
- Crowd sourced...