You will need to use reliable sources for your college research. Reliable sources are written by experts or go through some fact-checking process. Reliable sources can be grouped into two categories: popular sources and scholarly sources. The best way to find reliable sources is through our library databases, which will contain both popular and scholarly sources.
You can also conduct research on the internet, but please be aware that many sources that you find using Google will not meet the criteria to be considered reliable. This does not mean that there is not still valuable information that can be found on the internet. Review the information below on Evaluating Your Sources help determine what websites are truly useful.
Popular sources include newspapers, encyclopedias, and magazines. They are written by journalists and provide background information. They are reliable because newspapers and magazines fact-check their stories before they are published. Encyclopedias are reliable because they are written by experts on the topic.
You can find popular sources in the following SOWELA databases:
Provides access to over 570 highly regarded reference titles including encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, quotations, and more!
Scholarly sources (also called "peer reviewed") report the scientific evidence and conclusions of scholars and researchers. Most importantly, this research has been reviewed by other scholars in the same field of study before it was published to ensure that it is accurate and reliable.
You will find both scholarly peer reviewed articles and ebooks in our library's database. You can use the quick search option on the library website's homepage to search all of our databases at once, or select a specific database to search.
Watch the video below for some Database Search Tips
Consider 4 aspects about a source to determine if it is reliable: