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When you search for information, you're going to find lots of it. . . but is it accurate and reliable? You will have to determine this for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help. The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to determine if the information you have is reliable. Please keep in mind that the following list is not static or complete. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or need and include:
Currency
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose
Meta Analysis: Works consisting of studies using a quantitative method of combining the results of independent studies (usually drawn from the published literature) and synthesizing summaries and conclusions which may be used to evaluate therapeutic effectiveness, plan new studies, etc.(MeSH definition)
Review Article: Review articles provide a broad overview on a topic to answer background questions.
Experimental Article: Experimental design is when investigators apply an external factor (treatment, intervention, program, etc.) to the experimental group and observe the outcomes. Features include an intervention, a control group, randomization to intervention or control group, & manipulation of independent variable.
Quasi-experimental design is similar but may lack a control group, randomization, and only includes some manipulation of independent variable.
Case Study: Considered non-experimental, case studies may have an intervention but no random assignment to a group, no control group, and no manipulation of independent variables.
The ability to summarize information is an important skill to practice. It's crucial to be able to paraphrase and explain the main points of an article or study in a way that your audience will understand and that makes sense in the context you are provided.