CRAP Test for website credibility

2. 
redibility
eliability
uthority
urpose
oint of view
CRAP
Test

3.  How recent is this information?
 How recently has it been revised?
 Is it current enough for your topic?
CURRENCY

4.  Based on your knowledge, does the information seem
accurate?
 Can facts, statistics, or other information be verified
through other sources?
 Do there appear to be errors on the page (spelling,
grammar, facts)?
 Did the author bother to document his or her sources
and use reliable, credible sources?
 Do the links work?
RELIABILITY

5.  Who is the author?
 What are his or her credentials? Education? Experience?
Affiliation?
 Does the author’s experience really qualify him or her as an
expert?
 Does he or she offer first-hand credibility? (For instance, a
Vietnam veteran or a witness to Woodstock?)
 Who actually published this page?
 Is this a personal page or is it part of the site belonging to a
major institution? (Clues pointing to a personal page: ~ tilde,
%, users, members)
 Is the page hosted by a free server like AOL, Tripod,
Geocities?
AUTHORITY

6. But what if I can’t
find any
author information?

7. Words and phrases to look for:
 About us, Who Am I, FAQs, For More,
Company Information, Profiles, Our Staff,
Home
E-mail the author
 If you have no information other than an e-mail
link, write a polite e-mail asking for more
information.
Look for Credibility
Clues!

8. Delete characters in the address line up to the
next slash mark to see if a main page offers
more information about who is responsible for
publishing the page you are interested in.
Truncate the URL
Go from:
·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer/smith.htm
·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages/chaucer
·http://www.statecollege.edu/history/middleages
·http://www.statecollege.edu/history
·http://www.statecollege.edu

9. 

10.  Is the content primarily opinion? Or is it balanced?
 Does the source present a certain view or bias?
 Is the page affiliated with an organization that has a particular
political or social agenda?
 Why was this page created? To inform or explain? To
persuade? To sell?
 Who is the intended audience? Is it too simple?
 Is the page selling a product?
 Was the information found in a paid placement or
sponsored result from the search engine?
 Information is seldom neutral. Sometimes a bias is useful for
persuasive essays or debates.
 Understanding bias is important.
PURPOSE
OINT OF VIEW:

11. 
.com
.com-commercial sites-usually this means
the site’s purpose is to generate revenue in
some way. Determine how they are trying to
do this.

12. 
.org
•.org-organization sites-published by nonprofit
organizations-read the information that
describes who they are and why they are
publishing this information.
Find out if they are being sponsored by other
reputable organizations.

13. 
.gov
.gov -government sites- be sure that they
have clearly identified who they are.
“A .gov domain name carries with it a significant level of
legitimacy, trust, and authority as an official government
website that is certified, verified, and recognized by the
United States Government”.
http://www.inqbation.com/how-to-register-a-dot-gov-domain-name/

14. 
.edu
.edu-educational sites-be sure that they
have clearly identified who they are. An
educational – edu website can be written by
any student with space on their college’s
server. It does not mean the site is
automatically reliable.

15. 
.net
.net- network infrastructure- read the
information that describes who they are and
why they are publishing this information.