 | A reliable source is one that provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc. based on strong evidence. |
 | Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books -written by researchers for students and researchers. Original research, extensive bibliography. Found in GALILEO's academic databases and Google Scholar. Anatomy of a Scholarly Article. |
 | Trade or professional articles or books - written by practitioners in a field to impart practice-oriented information. Found in GALILEO databases. Some may also be found through Google or other search engine, but may require payment to see the full text. Beware of sources on the internet that look like trade/professional articles, but don't have reliable content. |
 | Magazine articles, books and newspaper articles from well-established newspapers - written for a general audience by authors or journalists who have consulted reliable sources and vetted through an editor. These sources may provide some of their articles online for free. Newspapers and magazines often contain both researched news stories and editorial/opinion pieces that express the view of the writer. It is important to be able to distinguish between them! Beware of sources on the internet that look like reputable magazines, and newspapers, but don't have reliable content. |
 | Websites and blogs - can be reliable or unreliable, hoaxes or sincere misinformation. Researchers and other experts often use blogs as a way to share their knowledge with the general public, but anyone with computer access can do so too, to further any agenda they want. It's up to you to evaluate the quality of what you find online. Online news sources are particularly notorious for false information. |
 | Wikipedia - some entries are reliable, some are not - it's up to you to evaluate. The authors are anonymous, so there's no way to determine their expertise, or the expertise of the Wikipedia editor who oversees the entry. Wikipedia editors will post warnings if they think the entry has weaknesses. Wikipedia entries tend to be conservative, reflecting traditional views over newer research. |
FAQs
What is considered a reliable source? ›
A reliable source is one that provides a thorough, well-reasoned theory, argument, discussion, etc. based on strong evidence. Scholarly, peer-reviewed articles or books -written by researchers for students and researchers. Original research, extensive bibliography.
How to determine if a source is reliable? ›- Authority: Who is the author? What are their credentials? ...
- Accuracy: Compare the author's information to that which you already know is reliable. ...
- Coverage: Is the information relevant to your topic and does it meet your needs? ...
- Currency: Is your topic constantly evolving?
A credible source is free from bias and backed up with evidence. It is written by a trustworthy author or organization. There are a lot of sources out there, and it can be hard to tell what's credible and what isn't at first glance. Evaluating source credibility is an important information literacy skill.
Which of the following is an example of a reliable source? ›Of the options given, a documentary is an example of a reliable source. Documentaries are usually well-researched and produced by professionals, ensuring that the information presented is factual and reliable.
What is a reliable source and not a reliable source? ›Reliable sources have connections to current, verifiable evidence, but unreliable ones don't. Unreliable sources do not consistently think through and write their content with professionalism.
Can a source be reliable but not valid? ›A test is valid if it measures what it is supposed to measure. If theresults of the personality test claimed that a very shy person was in factoutgoing, the test would be invalid. Reliability and validity are independent of each other. A measurement maybe valid but not reliable, or reliable but not valid.
What makes a source unreliable? ›Sources are unreliable when (i) the author doesn't have authority to write on the topic, (ii) the source contains plagiarized or uncited information, or (iii) the source contains inaccurate or false information. Unreliable sources can be books, journal articles, newspaper or magazine articles, websites, blogs, etc.
Which source is likely the most credible? ›The best credible sources for a research paper are peer-reviewed journal articles and books, as well as government or scientific reports.
How can you tell good research from bad or biased research? ›- Is this research peer reviewed? ...
- Is it published in a top-tier academic journal? ...
- Do other scholars trust this work? ...
- Who funded the research? ...
- What are the authors' credentials? ...
- How old is the study? ...
- Do the authors have a conflict of interest? ...
- What's the sample size?
Accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency and coverage are the five basic criteria for evaluating information from any sources.
Why do you think your research is valid? ›
Validity refers to how accurately a method measures what it is intended to measure. If research has high validity, that means it produces results that correspond to real properties, characteristics, and variations in the physical or social world. High reliability is one indicator that a measurement is valid.
How to find a good source? ›Look at the three letters at the end of the site's domain name, such as “edu” (educational), “gov” (government), “org” (nonprofit), and “com” (commercial). Generally, . edu and . gov websites are credible, but beware of sites that use these suffixes in an attempt to mislead.
What are three reasons for finding reliable sources? ›- To provide yourself with background information on your topic.
- To support your own argument or findings.
- To provide a counterpoint to your own argument or findings.
Credibility has to do with a person's veracity or truthfulness, whereas reliability deals with accuracy of the witness's testimony. Accuracy involves consideration of the witness's ability to accurately observe, recall and recount events in issue.
Is a .org a reliable source? ›Because it is easy for anyone to publish anything on a website, you need to find websites that contain reliable information. Websites with these domains (the URL ending) generally have reliable information: . org (a registered organisation)
Is .gov a reliable source? ›Generally, . edu and . gov websites are credible, but beware of sites that use these suffixes in an attempt to mislead.
Is .org considered a scholarly source? ›Generally, however, . org sites are nonprofit entities with a specific mission. Nonprofit entities with a . org domain might lead you to scholarly sources if they cite studies with a list of authors.
Is Britannica a reliable source? ›Britannica's content is among the most trusted in the world.