Learning Commons:Centre for Writing and Scholarly Communication/Research Writing

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Credible Sources

Writing a paper sometimes means we need to utilize a variety of different sources to complete our research. There are several different types of sources including: Books Magazines The internet Newspapers Interviews Videos Surveys Journals Government Publications

The internet is by far the most convenient resource for information and research - However it is not always reliable! Websites may contain exaggerations, bias, and complete untruths. As writers and researchers we must be careful about where we get our information from.

Websites like Wikipedia are easy to access, but have information added by authors who do not need to correctly support what they have written. Ask yourself some questions when looking at websites. For example:

  • When was the site created or updated? Is the information still relevant?
  • Is there advertising or pop-ups on the site?
  • Who created the articles on the site? What are their credentials and background?
  • Is the information being presented as merely the author’s opinion, or is it being presented as fact?
  • Does the author acknowledge other opposing arguments as well?
  • Do authors give proper citations of their sources?
  • Are the cited sources from other credible sources? For example, does the author cite another website that has no proper resources itself?
  • Is there contact information for the author or organization on the site?
  • Are there any spelling or grammatical errors on the site?
  • Does the information seem extreme, biased, or overly aggressive? Is there unprofessional language on the site?

The UBC Library has a great list of more questions to ask yourself when using the internet for research. Check it out at: http://help.library.ubc.ca/evaluating-and-citing-sources/evaluating-information-sources/

Most of these questions could be used to evaluate the majority of sources you encounter during research. You are encouraged to think about these when viewing any source.

The UBC Library is a great place to start looking! Besides an extensive collection of a variety of resources, the library also has much of its material online – so you can access it from home any time you want!

Check out these links too for more help with research and resources:

http://www.library.ubc.ca/ http://help.library.ubc.ca/#planning This link will set you up with all important steps in your research and finding sources! http://help.library.ubc.ca/evaluating-and-citing-sources/how-to-cite/ This link will assist you with creating citations for your own research.

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