Today you will
- check whether a website can be trusted
- check an AI answer against a real source
- start your Research Page
Your Research Page is a document of checked facts about your Something Real project, each with the link where you found it.
Have you ever believed a "fact" online that turned out to be wrong? What made you believe it?
The CRAAP test is five quick checks on any source:
| Letter | What it checks | The question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| C | Currency | How recent is it? |
| R | Relevance | Does it apply to you? |
| A | Authority | Who wrote it? |
| A | Accuracy | Can you check it elsewhere? |
| P | Purpose | Why does the page exist? |
A hallucination is when an AI makes up a fact or a source and sounds sure of it.
Using AI honestly means it helps with your own work. Passing off its words as yours is dishonest.
A good source is one you can check, not one with a fancy address.
Example entry
Claim: A student return Irish Rail ticket from Dublin Heuston to Galway costs from approximately €16 with a student Leap Card.
Source: https://www.irishrail.ie/en-ie/rail-fares-and-tickets/
Why I trust this: Official Iarnród Éireann fares page, checked today, cross-checked against Citizens Information.
Rank these four sources by trust, then read the checks.
The four sources
- A dietitian's blog from this year says eggs in moderation are fine. It links two studies and shows she is a registered dietitian.
- A slick news site says Wi-Fi cuts teenagers' concentration by 30%. It has no author, no study and 14,000 shares.
- A Revenue page on the tax rate, updated this year.
- ChatGPT tells you the minimum wage for a 19-year-old "as of 2024".
Write your ranking, 1 for most trusted and 4 for least, then open the checks.
Open the checks
- Blog: trust it. It has a named expert, sources and a date.
- News site: don't trust it. Looking polished doesn't make it true.
- Revenue: trust it. It is official and current.
- ChatGPT: check it first. AI can be out of date or just wrong.
Where was your gut wrong?
You will check one practice claim about a TY trip to Galway, then see what an AI says about the same fare. Follow the steps in the box below.
Here is the claim to check:
You will type this entry into your page:
Claim: A student return Dublin Heuston to Galway fare is approximately €[number you found] with a student Leap Card.
Source: [paste the Irish Rail URL]
Why I trust this: Official Iarnród Éireann fares page, checked today, cross-checked with Citizens Information.
Common snags
| If this happens | Do this |
|---|---|
| You can't find the AI's fact on an official site, or its link doesn't open | Treat it as made up and leave it out. |
| Two sources disagree | Use the newer official one. |
| A page has no date | Look for a dated source instead. |
| You get a strange text or email while you research | Don't click the link. Just delete it. |
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