Skip to Main Content

Ready, Set, Research: Knowing Your Sources

Watch for Red Flags!

Scan your online resources for easy-to-spot red flags.
These can help you determine whether a website is credible enough to use in a research paper.

 

  • Website does not look professionally designed
  • Lack of citations or links to verifiable information
  • No author/sponsoring organization is listed, either on the main page or in an 'About Us' section
  • The page's purpose is to sell something (almost all .com)
  • There is a lot of advertising on the page
  • The publisher is promoting a specific point of view

 

Search the Catalog

Scholarly, Substantive, and Popular Sources

Primary and Secondary Sources