To practice evaluating websites you find, let's apply the CRAAP tests to the sites below.
This site is a fairly obvious joke - octopi are sea animals and do not live in trees (in the Pacific Northwest or elsewhere). However, the site is very content-rich and well-organized. If the subject were the (not real) endangered Pacific Northwest Pine Owl, would you be able to tell the site was a fake?
CRAAP Test:
Conclusion - this is NOT a valid website to use in scholarly research!
Apply the CRAAP test to the following websites - which would you use in an academic research paper? Which would you not use?
This site, at first glance, appears to give information about a possibly dangerous chemical called Dihydrogen Monoxide. There are links to reports, an overview of the "controversy", and related information. If you knew nothing about chemistry, what would you think of this website?
CRAAP Test:
Conclusion - this is NOT a valid website to use in scholarly research!