HOW TO IDENTIFY REPUTABLE SOURCES
When researching you want to make sure you are using reliable documentation. By looking for a few key elements in books, articles, and websites, and asking yourself some simple questions, you can feel more confident you are using credible sources. Books The two basics that are a must for good scholarship are: • Bibliography • Footnotes or endnotes There are certainly quality books with neither of these that are well written and based on sound research. But how do you really know? There is no supporting documentation trail to show you where research was gathered and the quality of those sources. Older publications typically fall into this category and they need to be treated with the same skepticism. You do not need to reject sources without bibliographies or notes, but use them wisely as guides for your own research. Where possible find corroborating evidence. If you cite a book without sources make mention in your footnote that expresses the book’s lack of notes. See How to Cite Your Sources for reasons to have good notes. Articles from Magazines / Journals / Newspapers Newspapers report events and might reveal certain sources within the text. Magazine articles typically do not have any citations, but sometimes there are “For Further Reading” sections at the end. In most cases articles found in scholarly journals include detailed footnotes. Because of the variations in citation practices, there are additional questions you can ask about the magazine/journal and article.
	• Who is the magazine/journal’s target audience? A professional trade, collectors, or the general public? • Who is the article’s target audience? Are they professionals, enthusiasts, or the general public? • Who wrote the article? Is it a scholar, collector, enthusiast, or journalist? • What do you know the author’s background? Is he or she a specialist in a field, or a knowledgeable amateur? • Is the article based on research or is it an editorial? Does it have any kind of agenda?
By asking your sources these types of questions you are able to put the information into a context. For example, a magazine targeted to an amateur collector’s market is not necessarily less accurate or less reliable than a trade journal dedicated to a particular antique. You just need to think about how best to use the source. Maybe your plan is to use the magazine as an example of how the popularity of the collectable has grown rather than including a scholarly description of a particular object. Being aware of the motivation behind your source will help you use it in a more effectively in your research. Websites Anyone can post their ideas, research, and opinions online, which can make evaluating a website for reliable content confusing. As with any source, you need to carefully examine websites for content and sources. To feel confident about using a website in your research, it only takes a few minutes to look for clues about the website and its author. Who produced the website? Look at the three-letter domain code in the address to find out if an institution, government office, business, or individual produce the site.
	.edu = educational institution .gov = U.S. government site .org = organization or association .com = commercial/personal website .net = commercial/personal website
Websites produced by educational institutions, government sites, and organizational sites are typically more reliable than commercial and personal websites. They tend to invest more in presenting a balance and unbiased product, and more likely to have professionals and scholars responsible for the content. Like personal websites, these sites can still contain biases, so be aware of how information is presented. Who is responsible for the content? There are many professionals, amateurs and enthusiast who produce website to share their ideas or research with others. Some are excellent and some are quite questionable. The more you know about the author and the author’s intentions the better decisions you can make about the website.
	• What kind of qualifications or credentials does the author have? • If it is an organization what is its philosophy? • Is there an “About,” “Background,” “Philosophy,” or “Biography” page to better understand who and why produced the site? • Is there a way to contact the person or organization if you have questions or comments? • Is a business promoting the site? If so are there financial motivations for the site? • Who is sponsoring the site? Is there a particular agenda behind the site’s contents?
What is the content and how is it presented? Just because information is on a website does not necessarily make it accurate. Unfortunately many personal websites do not bother to support their web content with background information or sources. You should start by evaluating a website’s contents the same way you do other publications. Look for a source list, and ask questions about the content.
	• Are there footnotes or a bibliography? Are citations included at the bottom of a page, on a separate page, or available for downloading? • If there are images posted on the site, where did they come from? Is proper credit given? • If it is a genealogical website, does the author provide primary sources in their notes? Or is the family tree developed from other online, transcribed sources? • Is there an email address to contact someone for more details if you have questions? • Are primary sources a part of the site’s contents? Can you view scans of original documents to evaluate for yourself, or are they only transcribed? • How often are the pages updated? How recent is the information? • If the website is a personal page, how much effort went into presenting information accurately? Is the person providing insightful content or have you read the same material elsewhere?
For more information check out: Evaluating Information Found on the Internet by Elizabeth E. Kirk at The Sheridan Libraries, Johns Hopkins University Critical Evaluation of Resources U.C. Berkeley Library