ENGL 1101: Dr.Howells - Fall 2023: Scholarly v. Non-Scholarly

Evaluating What You Find

Finding accurate, reliable sources of information on the Internet can be a challenge.  As a rule of thumb, some of the best information on the web comes from government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations.  However, all sources should be carefully evaluated before you use them.  An easy way to remember how to evaluate information is to apply the C.R.A.A.P Test.

The brief answer: Information fact-checked and developed by and for scholars or academic audiences. 

The lengthy answer: There are a few elements to scholarly information. First, scholarly information is information that has been peer-reviewed, which is academia's version of fact-checking. Second, scholarly information contains references, or a list of sources that are used to inform or assert claims made in the publication. Finally, scholarly information is information produced by someone with credentials or authority on a given topic or subject. For instance, would you trust an English professor's research paper about dualities in string theory? Probably not! However, if you were to find an English professor's research article about Christian symbolism in Beowulf, you could say the author, as an English professor, has the credentials or authority to talk about the topic. 

Example of Scholarly Information 

Example of Non-Scholarly Information

Understanding the information timeline can help you differentiate between scholarly and non-scholarly (popular) sources.