Skip to Main Content

Literature Review Step by Step

About Evaluating Sources

If you cannot access the above video, you can watch it here

Apply the TRAAP Test

Timeframe
Relevance
Authority
Accuracy
Purpose

Timeframe

❖ When was the source written and published?
❖ Why is publication date relevant to your topic?
❖ Why is publication date important; was the material written at a particularly pivotal moment in the field?

Relevance

❖ Does the article contain information you need at this moment?
❖ Is the material from the right category?
(for instance, you are looking for dissertations and the source is written as a blogpost.)
❖ What is the connection between the source and my topic?

Authority

❖ Who is the author? 
❖ Is the author an expert in this area? 
❖ What are her credentials?
​❖ Why is this author qualified to write on this topic?

Accuracy

❖ Are the facts stated in the source correct?
❖ Is the evidence backed up by documentation?
❖ Does the author cite her sources?
❖ Did these sources go through a review process?

Purpose

❖ Why was the paper published?
❖ Could the author or institution have a motive or bias in publishing the information?