When this essential condition is complied, within the limits of LILACS geographic, chronological and language coverage, the following factors are still to be considered:

Quality of the provided data

A document can only be entered into LILACS if it contains sufficient information for its understanding, description, and access to the content.

Full comprehension by the reader:

The document reader should be able to comprehend the content as a whole, with the content structured in a way that facilitates the identification of the title, objective, methods, data, discussion, results, or clear and intelligible recommendations.

It is recommended that every document contains references to the scientific evidence that supports the validity of the information underlying the analyses and recommendations made in the document for later verification by the reader. Preferably, provide the link to access the cited evidence.

Information regarding institutional context and public policy to which the document pertains, in addition to information on the research production flow such as records in databases, research protocols, sources of funding, and previous presentation formats, are desirable. Additionally, additional resources that facilitate data checking or research reproducibility are desirable.

A bibliographic and thematic description:

The following information should be present in the document:

Known authorship:

Documents that do not allow for the registration of the personal or institutional author responsible for the quality and reliability of the document’s content are not accepted.

It is recommended that authorship be recorded with persistent identification numbers for correct indication of responsibility for the content, avoiding ambiguity.

Documents of anonymous authorship are not accepted in LILACS.

Date of content production:

It is necessary for the document to have a publication or drafting date, or for there to be a way to identify a probable date of the document.

Documents devoid of any date should not be registered in LILACS.

Institutional provenance:

A document that does not allow for the identification of the institution responsible for the content should not be registered in LILACS.

Content quality

Content quality of the documents entered in LILACS should be of a technical-scientific nature, preferably basic or applied research conducted with the rigor of the scientific method, and technical and normative documents from government agencies or international organizations.

Books and monographic documents, journal articles, theses, dissertations, and works presented at events undergo intellectual quality control by experts and/or peer review before being published.

Other types of documents are not usually subject to a similar quality control. The lack of this quality control prior to the appearance of the document requires that it be established post facto.

Thus, when the quality control process is not clear, documents from recognized institutions in the field should be entered into LILACS, as they can be responsible for the content of the document.

Furthermore, apply a quality assessment tool known as CRAAP (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, and Purpose):

Currency: the timeliness of the information

• When was the information published or posted?
• Have the information been revised or updated?
• Are the information current or outdated for your topic?
• Are the links functional?

Relevance: the importance of the information for your needs

• Are the information related to your topic or answer your question?
• Who is the intended audience?
• Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e., not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?
• Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?
• Would you feel comfortable using this source for a research paper?

Authority: the source of the information

• Who is the author/editor/source/sponsor?
• Are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations provided?
• What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations given?
• What are the author’s qualifications to write about the topic?
• Are there contact information, such as an editor or email address?
• Does the URL reveal anything about the author or the source? Examples: .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .gov or .gob (government), .org (non-profit organization), or .net (network)

Accuracy: the reliability, truthfulness, and correctness of the content

• Where does the information come from?
• Are the information supported by evidence?
• Has the information been reviewed or referenced?
• Can you verify any information in another source or from personal knowledge?
• Does the language or tone seem biased and free of emotion?
• Are there spelling, grammar, or other typographical errors?

Purpose: the reason why the information exists

• What is the purpose of the information? to inform? Teach? Sell? entertain? Persuade?
• Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purposes clear?
• Is the information fact? opinion? propaganda?
• Does the viewpoint seem objective and unbiased?
• Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?

Each country should seek to include in LILACS significant and representative national scientific production worthy of international dissemination. To do so, it is essential that each country establish a LILACS Selection Committee, which will be responsible for observing the LILACS selection criteria and evaluating the national literature entered into the database.

Validity and importance of the content

The documents entered into LILACS must be useful for:

• Decision-making in health (establishing a diagnosis, indicating a treatment, accepting or rejecting a technology, defining policies, etc.);
• Development of projects or establishment of programs (statistical, socioeconomic, cultural information, etc.);
• Resolution of specific problems in the country or region;
• Use as a reference or consultation;
• Personnel training (educational materials for courses, seminars, etc.);
• Evaluation of activities, procedures, methods.

The information contained in LILACS documents must have methodological rigor so that they are reproducible and applicable to other geographic areas and different situations.

Therefore, documents referring to local situations that are difficult to reproduce and replicate, of exclusive local interest, or informational in nature, should not be entered.

1. Blakeslee, Sarah (2004) “The CRAAP Test,” LOEX Quarterly: Vol. 31: No. 3, Article 4. Available in: https://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/vol31/iss3/4