RADCAB
Part I
What is RADCAB
• Besides driving in a tripped out cab, RADCAB also
stands as another way for us to examine, analyze,
and evaluate information in a text.
• Before you use information from an article,
website, or another source, you should make an
effort to see if your source is reliable. The
RADCAB acronym helps you remember what
areas to address BEFORE you use the website's
information.
• We are going to focus on RAD today.
R
• Relevancy
• Is the information relevant to your topic ?
• Is the information relevant to the questions
that you want to answer in your writing?
A
• Appropriateness
• Is the site/article/other source appropriate for you topic?
• Is it appropriate for your age and the age of your audience?
– Example: You wouldn’t want to use an excerpt from a news
article from The New York Times for a group of preschoolers.
You might use a reference from Dora the Explorer.
• Is the information confusing? Does it make you feel
uneasy? If so, then it is probably not appropriate for your
argument. You want information that you feel strongly
about.
D
• Detail
• Are there details that are in-depth and helpful
for your argument?
• Is the source well-organized and easy to read?
• Does the source have a “works cited”?
RADCAB
Part II
C
• Currency
• Make sure your information is up-to-date!
• The quality of our research is related to how
carefully we analyze the currency of our
information sources.
• Does your source tell when it was last
published or updated?
• If you used a website, do the links that you
have provided take you to an active website?
A
• Authority
• Authoritative information sources have everything to
do with how accurate and credible the information
presented is. You need to care who is behind the
information you are using as a matter of personal
integrity.
• Ask yourself:
– “What are the author’s qualifications?” This goes back to
the “speaker” part of SOAPSTone.
– Did you find the same information listed in multiple
places? On several websites? In several print versions of
informative text?
B
• Bias
• How do you know if the information you have found has a special agenda
behind it?
• Does the information have a particular angle, slant, or spin to it?
• Does the information exist because someone wants to inform me,
persuade me, entertain me, or sell me something?
– Look for clues like:
•
•
•
•
•
•
the domain name
the domain suffix (.com, .edu, .gov, etc.)
the advertising
the mission statement
the authorship or organization behind the information
the tone of voice or language used
• Remember: Bias isn’t always a bad thing. We just need to know why the
information was written in the first place. When you can recognize bias,
you can be a better judge of how you will use the information, or if you
will even use it at all.
Works Cited
"Library Media - Website Eval (RADCAB)." Library Media - Website Eval (RADCAB). Castle Rock Middle School, 2007. Web. 14 Jan.
2013.
"RADCAB - Steps for Online Information Evaluation." RADCAB - Steps for Online Information Evaluation. N.p., 5 Nov. 2012. Web.
14 Jan. 2013.