Design Management

Doing research is a cyclical process. When doing research, one should start with brainstorming keywords. Keywords will help you identify books and articles that are relevant to your research.  As you read articles and books, you should keep note of word that are frequently used by other researchers. Pratt Institute Libraries has a growing collection of Design Management research materials (books, e-books, articles, journals).

To best evaluate information, please follow the CRAP [ Currency, Reliability, Authority, & Purpose ] test below.   

The  CRAP Test

Currency 

• How recent is the information?
• Can you locate a date for when the resource was written/created/updated?
• Based on your topic, is it current enough?
• Why might the date matter for your topic?

Reliability 

• What kind of information is included in the resource?
• Is content of the resource primarily opinion? 
• Is is balanced or biased?
• Is there a Bibliography? In other words, does the creator provide references or sources for data or quotations? 

Authority 

• Can you determine who is the creator or author?
• What are the credentials (education, affiliation, expertise?)
• Is the publisher or sponsor reputable?
• Are they reputable?
• What is the publisher’s interest (if any) in this information?
• Are there advertisements on the website?

Purpose/Point of View 

• What's the intent of the article? (to persuade you, to sell you something?)
• For web resources, what is the domain? (.com .edu, .gov?) How might this influence the purpose or point of view?
• For web resources, are there ads on the webpage? How do they related to the topic of the web resource? (for example an ad for ammunition next to an article on firearm legislation or against gun control)
• Is the author presenting fact or opinion?

Adapted from Dominican University

Research Help:

You can reach us via Library chat on the right side of this webpage. Click on the "ask a Librarian" button for help. 

Writing Center:

The Writing and Tutorial Center offers free tutoring in writing, speaking, art history, math/science, and graduate thesis to all current Pratt students, regardless of program or status. Appointments are strongly recommended and can be scheduled by calling 718.636.3459 during office hours or  emailing wtc@pratt.edu.

Watch library page tutorials to make the best use of the library website.