Not all Open Education Resources (OER) are created equal. Assessment is still key to our decision to adopt an OER, just as it is with publisher or Internet content.

There are several rubrics and checklists to assist with our assessment of resources, OER or otherwise, including

• BC Campus’ set of criteria to use when reviewing open textbooks
• The Commonwealth of Learning’s guidelines for OERs in Higher Education
• Howard Rheingold’s Compendium of CRAP detection resources, a useful reference guide as you explore resources on the web. It lists a wide range of tools to assess the quality of online information.

One widely used way to assess online resources is the CRAAP test. First developed by librarians at California State University – Chico, institutions across the globe have adopted it as a framework for evaluating sources. CRAAP refers to Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy and Purpose.

Currency = the timeliness of the information

• When was the OER published or posted?
• Has the OER been revised or updated?
• Does your topic require current information?
• Are the links functional?

Relevance = the importance of the information for your needs

• Does the OER relate to your needs?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information in the OER at an appropriate level for your learners?

Authority = the source of the information

• Who is the creator?
• What are the creator’s credentials and/or organisational affiliations?
• Are the creators/collaborators/contributors qualified to write on the topic?

Accuracy = the reliability and truthfulness of the information

• Is the information supported by evidence?
• Has the OER been reviewed or refereed?
• Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, and/or typographical errors?

Purpose = the reason the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain, or persuade?
• Is the information fact, opinion, or propaganda?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, and/or personal biases?

Have a look at this two-minute video about Evaluating Sources (Western University, 2012) which provides an overview of the CRAAP test.