When conducting a literature search, researchers may refer to a variety of sources such as books, newspapers, periodicals (journals and magazines), and websites to gather their information and steer their research into the desired direction. Any reliable research sources being referred to, if relevant, would need to be cited appropriately. Correct referencing adds credibility and value to the research and instills trust and confidence among the readers about the quality of the study. In addition to being relevant to the topic of study, it’s important that the sources also be reliable enough to be cited confidently. However, because of the information overload online sometimes researchers may find it difficult to verify the authenticity of their sources and filter correct information from all the noise. If the sources aren’t authentic, the credibility of the study itself could be questioned by the readers and may affect the reputation and trustworthiness of the author. It is, therefore, essential to be able to identify the different types of credible research sources.
Common information sources
The common sources that researchers refer to can be categorized as follows: scholarly/academic, popular/mainstream, and trade publications. The content in all these categories is published in peer-reviewed journals/periodicals, magazines, open access (OA) content, books, and websites.
The table1 provides the differences between these three types of sources. The source used should depend on the type of article being written. For instance, popular magazines may not be an appropriate source to be cited in research articles. Selecting the correct source type for your article is the first step toward ensuring that a source is reliable and relevant.
| Popular magazines | Scholarly articles | Trade publications | |
| Content | Current events, general interest articles | Research results, review articles | Specific business or industry |
| Purpose | Inform, entertain, elicit an emotional response | Share research with academia | Inform business news, trends, products |
| Author | Writers, journalists | Scholars/researchers | Writers, business/industry professionals |
| Audience | General public | Researchers, students | Business/industry professionals |
| Citations | May not have or may be stated informally | Bibliographies/references/endnotes/footnotes | Few, or may not have any |
Tips to determine if a source is credible2,3
So, what makes a source credible? While conducting a literature search, researchers must mandatorily verify the reliability of the sources they are referring to. You could consider the following criteria and questions, collectively called the CRAAP Test,4 to quickly evaluate the sources. This test was developed by the California State University in 2004.
- Currency
- When was the information published or posted?
- Has the information been updated?
- Is your topic constantly evolving (e.g., technology, medical innovation, etc.) to require current data or will older sources suffice?
- [For websites] Are the links functional?
- Relevance
- Is the information relevant to your topic?
- Who is the intended audience?
- Is the information at an appropriate level (neither too basic nor too advanced for your needs)
- Can you confidently cite this source?
- Authority
- Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?
- What are the author’s credentials or organizational affiliations?
- Is the author an expert in the field or qualified to write on the topic?
- Is any contact information available?
- How is their reputation and experience in the research community or academia? What are their previously published works?
- [For websites] Does the URL reveal any information about the author or source? For e.g., .com (business or marketing, news), .edu (informational), .gov (informational), .org (advocacy), .net (technology, networking)
- Accuracy
- Where does the information come from?
- Is the information reviewed and supported by evidence (appropriate citations)?
- Can the information be verified with already known reliable information?
- Is the language or tone unbiased and free of emotion?
- Any spelling, grammatical, or typographical errors?
- Purpose
- What is the purpose of the information? Inform/teach/sell/entertain/persuade?
- Do the authors make their intentions clear?
- Is the information fact, opinion, propaganda?
- Is the point of view objective and impartial?
- Any political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional, or personal biases?
For individual sources, you could also refer to the following checklist to start with and then add criteria as you go along, if required.
| Source | Questions |
| Journals | · Is the website updated?
· Are the contact details given? · Are the author guidelines & journal metrics provided? · Is the journal indexed in a reputed database and published by a reputable press? · Are the articles peer reviewed? · Do the articles have a good citation frequency? |
| OA content | · Does the article follow a proper structure?
· Are the citations/references recent (published within 5 years) and content-appropriate? · Is the language appropriate and grammatically correct? |
| Books | · What are the author’s affiliations?
· Is this the most recent edition? How many previous editions are there? · What are the author’s or publisher’s past works? · Are the citations appropriate? · Is it published by a reputable press? · Is the book driven by ideologies or proper evidence? |
| Websites | · Is it a government or private site (organizations, student groups, blogs, associations)
· Is the site creator verified? (Check the About/Contact Us sections) · Is the content updated, non-biased, and well-researched? · Are there any advertisements or sponsored content? The more the advertisements, the less reliable the site as a scholarly source |
So, while you’re searching for appropriate sources to reinforce your research, do consult these checklists. Although these do not need to be strictly followed for every parameter, they would still give you a relatively clear idea about how reliable your source is.
We hope this article has provided some insight into identifying reliable research sources according to your need and determining the credibility of a source.
References:
- Is this scholarly? Peer reviewed? What is a trade publication? Henry Buhl Library, Grove City College website. [Accessed October 5, 2022]. https://hbl.gcc.libguides.com/c.php?g=1058529
- Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 9th Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2018.
- How to identify reliable information. Stevenson University website. [Accessed October 4, 2022]. https://www.stevenson.edu/online/about-us/news/how-to-identify-reliable-information
- Evaluating information. Applying the CRAAP test. California State University, Chico. [Accessed October 5, 2022]. https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf
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