Before you use any source of information, you should evaluate it with the five CAPPS Criteria:
- Currency: Publication date or updated date. Is the content current for your purposes?
- Authority: What qualifies the content creator or author to produce information about the topic? What expertise do they have?
- Publisher / Publication: What is the reputation of the publisher, publication, or organization providing access to the content?
- Point of View: How the information is presented. Objective or subjective? Obvious bias? Who is the intended audience?
- Sources: Amount of evidence provided. Reference list? Experts interviewed? Links to original sources?
Download the document below for specific evaluation criteria, questions to consider as you evaluate, and sources to assist in your evaluation: