Evaluating Information

One of the most important skills for teachers and students alike is to evaluate sources for relevancy and accuracy. Too many people don't realize that not everything is true just because it's on the internet or shared by someone we trust. We can never be sure that they evaluated the information, so we must do it ourselves.

So, how do we evaluate information? The infographic below breaks down the different steps involved in the process.

Another popular explanation of information evaluation is called the CRAAP method (or the TRAAP method). See the teacher resource page for handouts and videos that you can provide to your students.

Currency/Timeliness: when was the information published or updated? Is it current?

Relevancy: does the information answer your question?

Accuracy: does the information have evidence to back the claim?

Authority: who wrote and published the information? Are they identifiable? Do they have the qualifications or training that would make them considered experts in the field of study?

Purpose: why was the resource written in the first place? who sponsored the research or article?

The video below was published by the Australian National University. They break down each of the above steps and include extra questions that you may want to ask before trusting a source.