HIST 3030 - Age of Napoleon in Global Context: Find Reliable Internet Sources

We all know there is a wealth of information available on the Internet.  The problem with searching for information on the Internet is that we don't always know where it comes from and whether or not it is authoritative.  It is important to be selective and to evaluate the information you find online.  The CRAAP Test is a list of questions you can ask yourself in order to determine if the information on a web site is reliable. CRAAP is an acronym for:

Currency - Is the material current? Does it contain outdated or disproven information? Is the site maintained regularly?

Relevance - Is the material relevant to your question?

Author - Who wrote the content? What are the author's qualifications? Is there a way to contact the author?

Accuracy - How accurate is the information? What evidence does the author use? Does the author cite sources?

Purpose - What is the purpose of the content? Is the content objective or biased?

While researching unpublished materials often requires a physical visit, many institutions will digitized materials and make them available online.

Visit the "Find Primary Sources" tab on this LibGuide for a list of suggested of Digital Collections.