Finding and Evaluating Sources

Research depends on the quality of the material you build on. A strong essay rests on credible, relevant, well-chosen sources; a weak one relies on whatever appears first in a search engine. This lesson covers how to find good sources efficiently and, crucially, how to evaluate them so that your argument stands on solid ground.

Start with the right kinds of sources

Different questions call for different sources. Academic books and peer-reviewed journal articles carry the most weight in most disciplines, because they have been checked by experts. Reputable reference works, official statistics, primary documents, and established news organizations have their place too. General websites, encyclopedias that anyone can edit, and content with no named author or date are much weaker and should ra