1. 1. A credible source 2. A current source 3. A supported source
What is good research?
1. A credible source
2. A current source
3. A supported source

2. How do I know if a source is credible. 1
How do I know if a source is credible? 1. Is the author well respected in their field of study? EX: A Stanford biology professor has earned his/her spot as a professor at a prestigious university and can be regarded as a credible source because of the prestige of the university and his/her position as an instructor in the field. EX: An unnamed biology student who posts work on the internet can not be regarded as a credible source because they are without references and proof of their expertise.

3. 2. Is the source peer-reviewed
2. Is the source peer-reviewed? This means that other people within the author’s field have read the article/essay/report and have approved it for publishing. EX: Articles found in electronic databases such as EBSCO and JSTOR are marked as being peer-reviewed.

4. 3. Is the source a trusted source for information
3. Is the source a trusted source for information? EX: The Washington Post is a newspaper well known for its intensive investigative research and proven stories such as the Watergate scandal that brought President Nixon to disgrace. EX: The National Enquirer is a gossip sheet well known for publishing sensational stories without proof and are regularly sued by the celebrities they cover.

5. How do I know if a source is current. 1
How do I know if a source is current? 1. Why does the date of a source matter? Research papers are generally discussing some new theory or current concept. It is important that the information used in the argument has not become outdated or irrelevant due to changes in the field of discussion. EX: I wrote a college term paper about varying religious views of the Russian Orthodox Church and the British Anglican Church. Much of my research came from a comparison chart made in 1981 from a religious text book. I did not know that the Russian Orthodox Church had not only changed their official name since 1981 but actually changed their entire fundamental views on heaven. My professor nailed me for using an outdated source and I scored a low C on the paper.

6. 2. How do I tell the difference between web posted dates and dates of actual publication? This can be tricky. Usually a news article found online will post the date of the article directly at the top of the source but other sources such as essays and research findings are more difficult to find. The text usually offers the best clues. The text of the source should offer support from other current information and usually provides dated data to help clue in the reader to a publication date.

7. 3. Who decides what is current and what is not
3. Who decides what is current and what is not? This is usually relative to the topic. Some researched topics are changing at such fast rates that a source could be considered out of date if it was over a year old, other topics can use studies 50 years old because nothing new has been accomplished in the field and that data is still relevant. Thorough research of your topic will help reveal what is out of date information and what is current. EX: If you are writing about the economic situation of America you would not cite any numbers related to our economic issues from before Our economy has changed so quickly that these numbers are obsolete. Homes that sold for $350, in the spring of 2007 are now selling for $200, dollars.

8. How do I know if a source is supported. 1
How do I know if a source is supported? 1. What does it mean to have a supported source? Essays, reports, opinions are all published for lots of different reasons. The internet allows sources to be published for nothing and therefore can not all be trusted. You need to evaluate who or why your source was published. Is it some angry man’s blog about science that you tumbled across and read to be true accurate fact? Did you find an essay published by a college student looking to make some extra bucks on freetermpaper.com? Internet publication does not in any way verify the truth of what your source claims.

9. 2. Why is support or sponsorship of a source important
2. Why is support or sponsorship of a source important? If you are citing a source about the importance of purchasing cars to boost our economy and the author of your source works for a car manufacturing plant then your author has an agenda. The author is not necessarily interested in publishing unbiased facts but is interested in persuading the reader that his opinion is correct to support his own industry. It is important to evaluate the sponsorship or support for your source so that you can be aware of an agenda that might be present.