Website Credibility (Essay Sample)

Website Credibility
Name
Institutional Affiliation
Website Credibility
Nowadays, conducting research has eased because of advances in information and communication technology. It is becoming increasingly important for scholars to appraise the sources they use for credibility. Many students are confronted with an immense range of content when carrying out online research. Therefore, it is important for them to learn how to evaluate such sources for factual accuracy and relevance. Determining whether a website’s information is reliable or unreliable requires careful judgement. One approach to evaluate the quality of information is to apply a resource guide commonly known as the CRAAP test. According to Harrington, CRAAP follows five extensive criteria namely currency, relevance, authority, accuracy and purpose to concisely gauge the authority and value of online sources (Harrington, 2015).
The CRAAP test benchmarks can be expounded as follows:
Currency refers to appropriateness or how up-to-date the information is. Some unreliable websites provide obsolete information with dysfunctional links therefore offering an unrealistic interpretation of a given topic.
Relevance denotes the significance of the information to a given research topic. A relevant site should provide comprehensive answers to a question and add value to the existing body of knowledge.
Authority basically points out to the qualifications and knowledgeability of the informant or source. Accuracy refers to the trustworthiness of the content based on supporting evidence ad grammatical accuracy.
Purpose refers to the source’s reason for existence, objectivity of viewpoint and clarity.
Application of the CRAAP test on two website links (on the autobiography of John Locke, a 17th century philosopher).
/tas/locke/index.html
The link above leads to a piece on the memoir of John Locke. The website adheres to the five CRAAP test benchmarks as follows:
The information presented is current. The site’s content has numerous up-to-date sources cited regarding the subject. It was initially printed in 2007 and brought up-to-date in 2014.All links provided function accurately.
Relevance: The site gives pertinent information pertaining to subject matter. The author offers handy links relating to Locke’s history, his work and related information.
Authority: The site is written from a point of expertise as indicated by the author’s credentials offered. John Attig is affiliated to Pennsylvania State University.
Accuracy: the content is most likely accurate based on the number of updated references provided on the John Locke Resources Blog link.
Purpose: The site does not seem to show bias.
Overall, appears to be a credible source of information.
http://lostpedia.wikia.com/wiki/John_Locke
The above link points to a site without a specified author. While it is titled philoso...