PSYC 250: Developmental Psychology

C.C.O.W. or CCOW is an acronym that Anthony Tardiff, a librarian at Gonzaga University, put together to help students and other researchers evaluate resources. The reason I like this method so much is because it is an easy way to remember that information does not exist in a vacuum. In other words, CCOW encourages us to look at our sources critically using external information.

CCOW stands for Credentials, Claims, Objectives, and Worldview.

Credentials are the reasons why an author is a qualified, trustworthy expert in the topic being discussed. Some questions to ask about credentials could be: Where is the article published? Is it peer reviewed? Where did the author get their degrees? Do they have a degree in the subject area being discussed? If I google the author, what comes up? 

Claims are the accuracy and relevance of the information in a source. Some questions to ask are: When was the source published? What do other experts in the field say about the claims? Does the author cite their sources? 

Objectives are the reasons why the author published a work and the context in which it was published. Some questions to ask are: Why was the source written? Is it meant to be satire? What is the context? Are there any conflicts of interest? Was the study funded by a company that were hoping for a certain outcome? 

Worldview is a similar idea to bias, but removes some of the negative connotations around bias. Everyone has their own perspective on the world so it is important to be aware of these perspectives. Some questions to ask are: What is the author's worldview about this topic? What is my perspective on the topic? Am I more likely to trust or not trust this source because of my personal thoughts on the topic?