Out-of-Class Individual Activity

In this activity, you will find one new website and one new article that are relevant to your documentary film and evaluate them using the five CRAAP criteria elements: currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose. You will send your instructor the citations for your two new sources and a brief summary of what you learned about the reliability of the sources after doing the CRAAP evaluation (200-250 words).

Complete these steps:
1. Locate one new website using Google, and one new article, using Academic Search Premier. There is a link to this database on your UF 100 subject guide: http://guides.boisestate.edu/uf100
2. Familiarize yourself with the contents of each source.
3. Evaluate the website and the article using the five CRAAP criteria elements (see second page of assignment).
4. Think about what you have learned about the reliability of sources.
5. In 200-250 words total, explain what you discovered about the reliability of the new website and the new article.
6. Cite the new website and the new article in MLA format. (The UF 100 subject guide can help you with this.)
7. Bring your citations for these two resources and your 200-250 word explanation about their reliability to plenary on Oct 3 for attendance points.

If you need help:
? For help with this assignment, feel free to ask a librarian at the Reference Desk, via text, chat, phone or FAQ at: http://library.boisestate.edu/reference.php
? The UF 100 subject guide is linked on your UF 100 Blackboard site or go to http://guides.boisestate.edu/uf100
? Albertsons Library web site: http://library.boisestate.edu/
? You can check out iPads, laptops, MacBooks and Netbooks at the Library.
Evaluating Information: Applying the CRAAP Test
The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you determine if the information you have is reliable.
Currency: The timeliness of the information.
When was the information published or posted?
Is the information current or out-of-date for your topic?

Relevance:The importance of the information for your needs.
Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
Who is the intended audience?

Authority: The source of the information.
Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?
examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net

Accuracy: The reliability and correctness of the informational content.
Where does the information come from?
Is the information supported by evidence?

Purpose: The reason the information exists.
What is the purpose of the information? to inform? to sell? to persuade?
Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
Does the language or tone seem biased? Is it free of emotion?

Based on Miriam Library Research Station – California State University Chico – http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/evalsites.html