Holocaust: Evaluating Sources

CRAAP TEST WORKSHEET 

Use the following worksheet to help you evaluate your sources. Score each of the main categories 1 to 10 (1 = Worst; 10 = Best). Check your scores with the key at the bottom.

Currency: the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted? 
• Has the information been revised or updated?
• Is the information current or out-of date for your topic?
• Are the links functional?

Score:________

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

• Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
• Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Score:________

Authority: the source of the information

• Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
• Are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author's qualifications to write on the topic?
• Is there contact information, such as a publisher or e-mail address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source? For example:
  • .com (commercial)
  • .edu (educational)
  • .gov (U.S. government)
  • .org (nonprofit organization)
  • .net (network)

Score:________

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

• Where does the information come from?
• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or refereed?
• Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Score:________

Purpose: the reason the information exists 

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? teach? sell? entertain? persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Score:________

 Total:________

45-50 Excellent

40-44 Good

 35-39 Average

 30-34 Borderline Acceptable

 Below 30 Unacceptable

Note: all credit for the CRAAP test goes to the librarians who developed it at Meriam Library at CSU Chico. 

The Holocaust Encyclopedia (United States Holocaust Museum)

The Holocaust Encyclopedia (e-book, 2001; editors Baumel-Schwartz and Laqueur)

Lexicon from Yad Vasehem: The World Holocaust Resource Center

Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, Historical Collection

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, U. of Minnesota: Collections & Exhibits

Center for Jewish History: Digital Collections

Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies

Testimonies recorded starting in 1979 by the Holocaust Survivors Film Project. Hosted by Yale University.

Ghetto Fighters House Archive

Founded in 1949 by Holocaust survivors to tell the story of rebuilding their lives in Israel and creating the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz.

Harvard Law School Library Nuremberg Trials Project

Documents related to the trials of military and political leaders of Nazi Germany prior to the International Military Tribunal (IMT), plus documents from the subsequent U.S. Nuremberg Military Tribunals (NMT), 1945-49.

more...

Jewish Museum, The Collection (NYC)

Search the museum's digital collection

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Includes online collections

USC Shoah Foundation: The Institute for Visual History and Education

Testimonies and other resources intended for "developing empathy, understanding and respect through testimony"

Voices of the Holocaust (British Library)

Oral history testimonies from Jewish men and women to moved to Britain during or after WWII

Yad Vashem Collections (World Holocaust Remembrance Center)

Yeshiva University Museum Collections

Artifacts from 5000 years of Jewish culture, art, and history. Includes fine and folk arts, ethnographic and archaeological artifacts, manuscripts, and more.

Educational Sites

The Holocaust: A Learning Site for Students (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

For middle and secondary level school. Organized by theme. Includes photographs, maps, artifact images, and testimonies.

Teaching about the Holocaust (US Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Includes guidelines, lessons, and teaching resources

A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust (Univ. of Southern Florida)

Organized by Timeline, People, and the Arts