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ZOOL101: Global Climate Change and Its Impact on Animals Around the World

This is a guide to help students in Dr. Martin's Zoology 101 course as they complete their Research Assignment on their chosen animal species.

Finding Your Sources 2.1: Evaluate

CRAAP test criteria :currency, relevancy, authority, accuracy, and purpose/point of view

Use Lateral Reading to Learn More About Sources

While applying the CRAAP Test to a web site, that web site isn't always the best place to answer questions concerning authority, accuracy, and point of view. You can't always trust what an author or organization says about themselves, and there are sites that may look very professional and credible that are actually promoting a certain agenda or viewpoint. 

If you're unfamiliar with a online source, it is good practice to open a new tab and perform a search on the author/organization providing the source. This process is called Lateral Reading. In addition to reading "down" the Web page in order to evaluate it, you open additional tabs and read "across" multiple pages to determine what others are saying about your potential source. Basically, you're going to be a fact checker.