Step 4: Choose the Right Sources

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Which Information Resource could be used?
This step involves using your previous search strategy to obtain results and select the information sources used in the research paper, especially during the enormous production of databases and resources on the internet daily; CRAAP criteria can help you to know which sources you can depend on in your research; CRAAP stands for Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose.
Currency
It is the timeline of information.
  • Does it updated or not?; the used information resource must be up to date
  • When was the information produced?; You cannot depend on an article written in 1960 or without a defined date in research about cell phones. 
  • How important is the timeline of the information to your research?; You can depend in your research paper about WW2 on an article written in 1944
Relevancy
It is the relation between the information that you have and your needs.
  • Does the information that you have are related to your research topic or not?;  you cannot depend on a medical dictionary to have a piece of information about sports.
  • Is the information appropriate level of the needed information, narrower, or more general?; you cannot depend on an article written on Politics in Egypt in your research about politics in the whole of Africa.
  • Does the source will add information to your research or not?; you can depend on the pharmaceutical dictionary to have information about (drug interactions).
Authority
 It is the speciality of the author/publisher/source/sponsor of information.
  • Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor of the source?; you cannot depend on a research paper by Magdi Yaacoub to have information about aircraft.
  • Does the information owner affiliate with the specified science or not? Does the information owner's affiliation exists in the source or not?; You can also depend on his articles about (Heart treatment).
  • Is there any information about the author or source in the URL? You can depend on electronic sources.
    • For instance, .ac.uk = Academic institutions in the United Kingdom; .com = Commercial sites; .edu = Educational institutions; .gov = Government; .nhs.uk = Health information services in the United Kingdom; .org = Non-profit organizations; .mil = Military; and .net = Network.
Accuracy
It is the truthfulness, correctness, and reliability of the content.
  • Does the research depend on whether the information resource which based on existing theories and realities or not?; You cannot rely on a source that discusses the "Rate of increasing diabetes in Africa" without supporting reports, charts, or theories.
  • Where does the information come from?; you can not depend on a resource that does not have bibliographical references.
  • Are there any grammatical, spelling, or typographical errors?; you can not depend on a resource that contains grammatical issues in its content.
  • Has the data been double-checked or not? You may rely on peer-reviewed papers from many databases.
Purpose
It is the reason information has been done to achieve.
  • Why was this information written?; You cannot rely upon an article biased toward a particular political faction, religion, or country.
  • What is the purpose of the information?; whether the data for teaching, entertainment, propaganda, and it depends on needed information whether it is reliable or not?
Tricks & Tips
  1. You can dispense with CRAAP criteria when you use the Egyptian Knowledge Bank. Learn How to use EKB?
  2. You can find a Guide that could help you to learn how to use most of the databases, which could help you to find information resources when you visit Ebsco Discovery Service (EDS)
  3. You can visit eResources & eJournals to get more reliable databases.
  4. NGU Libraries OPAC could Help you find physical information resources to use for your research. Learn How to Borrow, Renew, Hold, and Return a book?