TRAAP Evaluation Strategy

When you search for information, you are going to find lots of it, but is it accurate and reliable? You will have to determine this for yourself and you can use the following principles as a guide. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need.

Timeliness

• When was it published?
• Are their references current?
• Is currency important for your assignment topic?

Relevance

• Does the information relate to your topic?
• What audience is it written for?
• Is the content at an appropriate level for my needs, e.g., scholarly resources for academic writing?

Authority

• Who is the author or organisation?
• Are they qualified or an expert in their field?
• Is it edited or peer-reviewed?
• Does the URL reveal or tell you anything, e.g., .com .edu .gov .org?

Accuracy

• Where does the information come from?
• Does the site have links to other reliable sites on the topic?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source?
• Are there errors or broken links?

Purpose

• What is the purpose of the information? Advertising? Scholarly work? Opinion?
• Is there bias?