English 111: "Google" Sources

The CRAAP Test for general web sources:

Currency: When was the website/webpage published or last updated?

• Websites will include a date of publication and/or and secondary time/date when the page was updated or reviewed. 

• Website publication dates can sometimes be difficult to find. If you do not see the date at the top of the webpage, you may have to scroll to the bottom of the page.

Relevance: Does the website meet your research needs?

• Scan of the first few lines of a page. Most websites will provide an introduction to a concept up-front, to let the reader know the primary topic of the page or site. 

• Because everything is about fiscal competition these days, websites try to hook you up-front with points of clarity, comparisons to active, real world events, or attempt to connect the concept to your personal life.

• Look for designated sections - is there a formal flow to the content that you can quickly scan through to see if it covers the concepts you are interested in researching.

• Are there captions to any images included? These may also provide quick clarity to what the page will cover. 

Authority: Who wrote the page? What or organization published the website?

• You can always run a quick Google search on an author in the byline to see what their education background is--do they have a degree, or years working in a specific industry?

• Also, check the perceived reliability and bias of the organization that published the page. 
  • It may be appropriate to use a biased piece of media if you are using it to discuss the bias itself--always check with your professor before including biased or unreliable sources in your project.

Accuracy : How accurate is the information? Is the information free of grammatical and spelling errors? Did the author include sources for their information?

• Similar to academic journal resources, keep an eye on spelling and grammar. If you are noticing issues in this area, you may want to take another look at the other CRAAP test variables to see if you are truly using a reliable source. Professional publications will attempt to publish error-free resources. 
• Also, most reputable sites will include hyperlinked text that serves as supplementary, supporting materials to the points the author is discussing. While they may not provide a formal citation list, these hyperlinks function in similar ways by connecting topics together and providing a chain of information to the reader. 

Purpose: Why was the information created? Is the information biased in any way? Is it trying to sell you something? Note any advertisements included in your sources. 

• While our academic database resources will be ad free, many websites include a large variety of ads. Internet e-commerce relies heavily on advertising, and sometimes user subscription fees to stay in business. Many websites will have advertisements listed throughout the page, including in headers, at the right/left columns of the page and sometimes even embedded within the formatting of the main text. 
• Advertising should never be a part of the webpage content itself. While the text may reference products or companies, the information supplied should be unbiased and informative in nature, rather attempting to sell you anything. 
• If you are using a websource from a corporation, is the information trying to steer you toward using their products over others?

On the general web, you will find a variety of resource types. It is important to realize that every site has a reason for publishing the information they present. Types of web sources include:

• Sponsored content - Tools, Paid products, etc. (will usually be the first few results)
• General Information - covers different information topics, may cite experts, or may be blog format
  • Wikipedia, History.com, etc.
• Education and Reference - sites that focus on educational content, will usually provide direct reports, data, or cite the sources of content
  • .edu - College/University websites
  • Online Encyclopedias (Britannica)
• News sites
  • AP, NPR, BBC, etc.
  • May have particular biases - for more information news resources: https://brcc.vccs.libguides.com/eng111/news
• Government sites
  • may include .gov or country codes
• Institution-based/Organization/Corporate
  • may include .org
  • Includes business websites 
• Social media and community forums
  • Facebook, Reddit, Quora, etc.
• Entertainment
  • Youtube, Netflix, Hulu, etc
• Infotainment - Provides information, but in an entertainment lens
  • Daily Show, Colbert report, etc.

Types of resources that you may find on those websites may include:

• Text-based (Descriptive, Reports, Datasets
• Short and long form video content
• Audio/podcast resources
• Images and GIFs
• Interactive - Tutorials, Quizzes, etc.