Name: Ms G Sample

Name of Website and URL: theottomans.org

CHY4U: CRAAP TEST[1]

Use this method to evaluate the reliability of one website related to world history. Don’t get caught using unreliable, inaccurate, misleading or erroneous information, or at least be able to explain why a website is weak. Save as a document and type information/proof/examples next to/under each section. Rank each section from one to ten, one being unreliable, ten being excellent. Add up the total at the end. 45-50 = excellent; 40-44 = good; 35-39 = average; 30-34 borderline acceptable; below 30 = unacceptable. 16.5 /50

Currency – timeliness of the information4/10

  1. When was it published or posted?

The about us section refers to the year 2002.

  1. Has the info been revised or updated recently?

No update dates are given.

  1. Is the info current or out-of-date for your topic?

The information seems current for the study of the history of the Ottoman Empire including reference to women and minorities.

  1. Are the links functional?

There are only 3 links: all are live and link to travel-related sites in Turkish.

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs6.5/10

  1. How does the info relate to study of world history?

The site covers the history of the Ottomans from its rise in the 1200s with the birth of Osman, to its end in 1923 when Turkey became republic. There is a chronological timeline feature.

  1. Who is the intended audience?

It seems pseudo-academic: for people with interest in Ottoman history and culture but who don't require formal, academic sources with clearer sources.

  1. Is the info at an appropriate (high school) level?

It is very dense: definitely not written for younger students.

  1. Have you looked at a variety of sources before choosing this one? Such as?

It was very hard to find any academic sources. I checked out allabout turkey and ottomanempire.info only to find them very commercial and lacking.

  1. Would you be comfortable using this source for a research paper? Why?

No, I would not. Even though the site has a huge works cited list, it does not directly link information directly to sources. The authors could have just copied a bibliography from somewhere else. Though the material seems academic, I don't know enough about the Ottomans to make that judgement without seeing the source for each piece of information.

Authority: the source of the information5/10

  1. Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?

Korkut Ozgen is listed as the author and creator. His business is called LuckyEye Limited.

  1. What are the author’s credentials (qualifications)?

He claims to be a graduate of the Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey,and to have studied history there.

  1. Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?

There is a forum which viewers can email. One must become a member. There is a link to the publisher, Luckyeye.com, a digital agency in Turkey.

  1. Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source (e.g., museum, university)?

No - .org can mean anything.

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content 7/10

  1. Where does the info come from (check references, footnotes, bibliography, etc.)?

There are six pages of references to books, archives, catalogues, and encyclopedias in English, French and Turkish (and possibly other languages).

  1. Is the info supported by evidence (proof)?

Everything is very detailed. For instance, each historical period's section contains information about the sultans, expansion, military conquests. For the 1400 to 1500 period the section goes into detail about possessions in southeast Europe (the Balkans) and North Africa (Egypt). The claim that Mehmet II turned Istanbul into a centre for Sunni Islam is supported by the fact that he converted Hagia Sophia, a former Byzantine Church, into a mosque.

  1. Can you verify any of the info in another source? Please do so for one ‘fact.’

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's page on Hagia Sophia confirms the above-mentioned fact that Mehmet turned the church into a mosque in 1453. [

Purpose: the reason the info exists3/10

  1. Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear? What are they?

The author/publisher claims to want to provide information about th history and culture of the Ottoman Empire. However, he also suggests that some commercial links will follow and that a game will also be produced. A lot is made of the commercial links to LuckyEye productions and its skills. Therefore, the viewer must take the historical purposes with a grain of salt.

  1. Is the info fact? opinion? propaganda? or combo? Justify one example.

Even though the motivations seem to be commercial, the information itself seems to be factual. The timeline, for instance, doesn't have very many opinionated words or actions, except for the omission of the genocide again the Armenian Christians, an Ottoman minority group, during World War I by the Turks. While this is generally accepted to be a genocide in most of the western world, in Turkey it is a more controversial subject. This leads one to say that unless the reader is very familiar with Ottoman history, it is hard to tell whether to trust the information in this website or not.

  1. Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Given the generally neutral, non-critical nature of the view of Ottoman history, the reader could conclude that the author wants to put forward a positive-only view of Ottoman history. It is unclear if this is for political, religious or personal reasons. On the whole though, it isn't a critical academic study of the pluses and minuses of the empire.

TOTAL = 25.5 (unacceptable)

Rubric for CHY4U CRAAP Test

Levels of Achievement

Criteria / Level 4 / Level 3 / Level 2 / Level 1 / SCORE
Thinking/Inquiry (T)
Analyses reliability of a website relevant to world history / Uses processing skills with a high degree of effectiveness:
Many specific details show that website is reliable and relevant (or clearly justifies low score through highly detailed examples).
Fully justifies scores in each category with precise examples. / Uses processing skills with considerable effectiveness:
Good amount of details show that website is reliable and relevant (or generally shows that website isn’t reliable and relevant). / Uses processing skills with some effectiveness:
Some details are used to show that website is reliable and relevant (somewhat shows that website isn’t reliable and relevant).
Lacking important examples. / Uses processing skills with limited effectiveness:
Incomplete form (yes/no type answers) or unjustified choice of unreliable and/or irrelevant website.
Communication (C)
Uses terminology related to reliability and relevance / Uses terminology with a high degree of effectiveness:
Clearly grasps the language of reliability and relevance (differentiates between C R A A P categories).
Uses language of reliability and relevance to justify scores in each category. / Uses terminology with considerable effectiveness:
Shows good usage of language of reliability and relevance (expected terms are there and used correctly). / Uses terminology with some effectiveness:
Uses some language related to reliability and relevance (some expected terms are missing). / Uses terminology with limited effectiveness:
Doesn’t use much language related to reliability and relevance (doesn’t distinguish between C R A A P categories).
SCORE / 4++ (100%) 4+ (95%), 4 (88%), 4- (82%), 3+ (78%), 3 (75%), 3- (72%), 2+ (68%), 2 (65%), 2- (62%), 1+ (58%), 1 (55%), 1- (52%), Below 1 (0 - 49%)

Note: Below level 1 does not meet the expectations of this assignment.

Curriculum Expectations: students will…

A1.2 select and organize relevant evidence and information on aspects of world history since the fifteenth century from a variety of [primary and] secondary sources

A1.3 assess the credibility of sources and information relevant to their investigations

A2.2 apply in everyday contexts skills and work habits developed through historical investigation (CRAAP tests are transferable to any subject)

[1]Adapted from Meriam Library, California State University, Chico. (2010, Sept. 17). Evaluating information: applying the CRAAP test. Retrieved Dec. 7, 2011 from