Systematic Theology: Research Skills

CRAAP TEST WORKSHEET 

Use the following worksheet to help you evaluate your sources. Score each of the main categories 1 to 10 (1 = Worst; 10 = Best). Check your scores with the key at the bottom.

Currency: the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted? 
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• Are the links functional?

Score:________

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?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
• Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Score:________

Authority: the source of the information

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? For example:
  • .com (commercial)
  • .edu (educational)
  • .gov (U.S. government)
  • .org (nonprofit organization)
  • .net (network)

Score:________

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

• Where does the information come from?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Score:________

Purpose: the reason the information exists 

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Score:________

 

 Total:________

45-50 Excellent

40-44 Good

 35-39 Average

 30-34 Borderline Acceptable

 Below 30 Unacceptable

Note: all credit for the CRAAP test goes to the librarians who developed it at Meriam Library at CSU Chico. 

Shorter University's Academic Dishonesty Policy

"Academic Dishonesty" is the transfer, receipt, or use of academic information, or the attempted transfer, receipt, or use of academic information in a manner not authorized by the instructor or by university rules. It includes, but is not limited to, cheating and plagiarism as well as aiding or encouraging another to commit academic dishonesty.

"Cheating" is defined as wrongfully giving, taking, or presenting any information or material borrowed from another source - including the Internet by a student with the intent of aiding himself or another on academic work. This includes, but is not limited to a test, examination,  presentation, experiment or any written assignment, which is considered in any way in the determination of the final grade.

"Plagiarism" is the taking or attempted taking of an idea, a writing, a graphic, musical composition, art or datum of another without giving proper credit and presenting or attempting to present it as one's own. It is also taking written materials of one's own that have been used for a previous course assignment and using it without reference to it in its original form.  
Students are encouraged to ask their instructor(s) for clarification regarding their academic dishonesty standards.  

Plagiarism on Campus

• A resource of affordablecollegesonline. Created by Shelley Nicholson PhD canidate UMass Amherst.

When conducting research, you must credit the sources you used which contributed to your final product. This attribution, or documentation, serves several purposes:

1. It provides a way for your readers (or professor) to read more about your topic;
2. It allows readers to evaluate the sources you used to reach a conclusion with which they may or may not agree; and
3. Documentation is necessary so that you will not appear to be plagiarizing, or claiming as your own, someone else's work.

Documenting Sources

Documentation is given in the form of a bibliography, or list of sources (sometimes called "references") used; footnotes or endnotes (depending on documentation style) are often included as well. Parenthetical citations--brief notes in parentheses that direct the reader to citations in the bibliography--are given in the body of the paper and are used to attribute a direct quote or idea. A bibliography is found in the last pages of a research paper, article, book, etc., and should be a complete list of all sources the author used. 

Avoiding Plagiarism

Ask yourself the following questions about everything you write:

For material that is not directly quoted:

• Does this material represent my ideas, and only my ideas?
• If this material is paraphrased or summarized from another source, have I documented the source from which I took the ideas?
• If this material is paraphrased or summarized from another source, have I used my own words to paraphrase, rather than simply rearranging the author's words?

For material that is directly quoted:

• If I have copied material word-for-word from another source, is that material either enclosed in quotation marks ("") or in the form of a block quote?
• If I have copied material word-for-word from another source, have I documented the source from which I took that quotation?
• If I have copied material word-for-word from another source, have I copied it exactly, including the punctuation?

For all material:

• Have I given enough information in my paper or project (including parenthetical and bibliographical citations) for someone else to find that source?
• Have I listed in my bibliography only those sources I have used in my paper or project (that is, not tried to "inflate" the bibliography by including sources that were not used)?
• Was each piece of information cited taken from the source to which it was attributed?
• Have I given credit for any graphical material (charts, graphs, tables, pictures, etc.) I may have used?

Be sure that you can answer yes to each of these questions before submitting an assignment.