Skip to Main Content

Evaluating Sources

Guide to understanding "scholarly sources" and evaluating academic quality.

The ACT UP Method

AUTHOR

  • Who wrote the resource? 
  • Who are they? 
  • Background information matters.

CURRENCY

  • When was this resource written? 
  • When was it published? 
  • Does this resource fit into the currency of your topic?

TRUTH

  • How accurate is this information?
  • Can you verify any of the claims in other sources?
  • Are there typos and spelling mistakes?

UNBIASED

  • Is the information presented to sway the audience to a particular point of view?
  • Resources unless otherwise stated should be impartial.

PRIVILEGE

  • Check the privilege of the author(s).
  • Are they the only folks who might write or publish on this topic?
  • Who is missing in this conversation?
  • Critically evaluate the subject terms associated with each resource you found. How are they described? What are the inherent biases?

The ACT UP method of evaluating sources is similar to the CRAAP method but adds a component for determining if there are some missing voices in the research.