Google is helpful for finding information: Use the CRAP Test and logic to evaluate your results.

 The CRAAP test is a tool for evaluating sources on the internet; it is descriptive and easy to remember.  

The CRAAP Test for evaluating sources

Currency: The date & timeliness of the information posted

• When was the information published, or posted?
• Has the information been updated or revised?
• Is the webpage information outdated for the topic?

 Relevance: The value, or importance of the information for your needs 

• What kind of information is included in the resource?  Is the information on the topic superficial, or is it presented as a detailed analysis?
• Type of information and level of information: is it written for a general audience? 
• Can the information be verified by other sources?

Authority: The source of the information

• Who is the author? What are the author's credentials? Are the author's credentials appropriate with the information they are writing about?
• Is the information associated with  an affiliated organization? What is the reputation of the organization?
• Is contact information listed? Is there a "Contact Us" page? A "Mission statement" page?

 Accuracy: Reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the information

• Where does the information come from (check the domain in the URL)
• Who is the creator or author? What is the authority of the organization? Are they reputable?
• What are the credentials of the author or the organization? 
• If it is a journal, is the article peer-reviewed?
• What is the publisher's interest (if any) in this information?

Purpose: The reason your information exists 

• Is the purpose of the website clearly stated? Check "About", or "Mission Statement" pages.
• Is content of the resource primarily opinion? Does it represent a point of view? If it is opinion, is it balanced? 
• Is the subject approached from an objective viewpoint, or is the author trying to convince you of something?
• Is the information biased? Can the information be verified by another source, or supported by independent evidence?
• Are advertisements prominent on the website?

When you use the resources of Lock Haven University Libraries, or any other library, you have the benefit of using sources which have been evaluated by librarians, scholars, and publishers for content, accuracy, and validity.

Attached is a document detailing criteria to help you evaluate websites: click on the document to download.

• Identify the possible terms, names, ideas of your topic, and develop a vocabulary of terms that you can use for searching.
• Early in your search, look at the source pages or documents returned by your first search for new words that better describe what your topic, or describe your topic, differently.
• Google is capable of sorting results in a ranked manner according to how close the words are to each other. When you type in a phrase place quotation marks at either end: "amphipod distribution" to make your search even more specific: this tells Google to locate the words next to each other.
• In Google, the keywords you type in, or pages consisting of your keywords, will be shown as the first hits in your results list.