You’re assigned a literature review for an essay, and you need a bunch of sources to back it up. Where should you look? What do you need to do?
You want to avoid using sources that are politically or socially polarizing. You don’t want to attract the wrong kind of attention to yourself. So how can you find reputable online sources?
What you need to do is put in the work to find trustworthy information online. There are a number of steps that you can take to ensure that the information you find is reliable. Familiarize yourself with the following list of tips to find reputable sources for your research.
Use Common Sense
When you’re Googling something, you’re bound to see a few results that appear at first glance to be reputable, but in reality, they’re not. These results might show up as sponsored placements or might be from low-quality blogs that are completely irrelevant to your topic. Avoid giving these kinds of results too much weight in your decision-making. Use your common sense and evaluate the results that you get from a trusted source. This way, you can avoid being fooled by deceptive practices.
Do Some Research
When you want to find reliable information online, you have to do a little research. This means that you need to hit the Google key and enter your search term, followed by ‘site:’ (in this case ‘site:wikipedia.org’ to search the Wikipedia website). When you do this, you’ll see a few results at the top of the page. Take a quick look at the top few results to get an idea of what kind of information is available online. If you find a Wikipedia entry, a Stanford University news article, or a Business Insider piece that looks good, dig a little deeper to see where it comes from. This is where doing some research comes in handy. By taking the time to do some research, you can ensure that you’re getting good information.
Don’t Be Fooled By Commercialism
Another thing that can trip you up is being fooled by commercialism. You might see an ad for a product that will help you with your essay and click on it, only to be presented with a poorly designed and heavily-promoted website that looks like a bargain. Don’t be fooled by these kinds of tactics. Stick to the original source – whether that’s a well-designed, official website or a reputable news organization. In this case, you’d want to avoid using this last resort as a source of information.
Check The Website’s Author Bio
On most websites, you’ll see a little section with the author’s bio at the end of the article. This is where you get to learn a little bit about the person who wrote the article. Take a look at the author’s bio to see if there’s anything in there that can help you determine the trustworthiness of the source. An author’s bio can contain a lot of information, so take the time to study it. You can also find the author’s Twitter or Facebook account to learn more about them. In some cases, the author’s name might also be listed in the article. If you find that the author’s name is not listed in the article, but you still have confidence in the author’s reputation, then this is a good indicator that you’re dealing with a reputable source.
Look At The Comments
Another thing that you can do when you’re checking out an article is reading the comments section. This is where people who have already read the article leave comments in support of it or in opposition to it. This kind of thing can be very revealing when it comes to the quality of a source. If there are a lot of comments that are positive and seem to have some degree of backing, then this is usually a good sign that you’re dealing with a reputable source. If there are no comments and no one has supported it in any way, then this is usually a red flag that you’re dealing with a less trusted source – especially if other sources do have comments.
Think About How You Would Feel If You Handed It In
When you’re in the middle of writing an essay and you need some inspiration or an idea for your paper, how you would feel if you handed it in is probably the best indication of whether or not you’re going to like the source. After all, it’s your own work that you’re reading. If you found it interesting and easy to understand, but don’t want to use it as a source because it’s not a respectable one, then you know exactly what to do. Think about how you would feel when you’re writing your own paper and whether or not you want to use this kind of source. In most cases, you’re going to want to say no thanks because you wouldn’t feel good about plagiarizing someone else’s work. Even if you don’t plan on cheating, thinking about how you’d feel if you did is usually enough for most people.
Look At The Volume Of Sources
Another good indicator that you’re dealing with a reputable source is the volume of sources they have listed. If they have a lot of sources and they cite reputable sources from various fields, then this is usually a good sign that they are a reputable source. Even when hunting for information online, it’s not always easy to know exactly how many sources you’re going to get. Sometimes there are a lot of results and sometimes there aren’t. In most cases, the more sources you get, the better. This is because you’ll be able to find more information on your topic. If you find that the source has a lot of publications and they are all reputable, then this is usually a good sign that you’re dealing with a reputable source.
Look At What Kind Of Feedback The Source Is Getting
When you’re looking for sources for your paper, it’s important to see what kind of feedback the source is getting. If this is positive, then this is usually a good sign that you are dealing with a reputable source. Take a look at the source’s page and see if there are any comments or testimonials from previous customers. In some situations, you might think that a source is reputable just because all of their published work appeared to be good, but in reality, they might have a bad reputation among their previous customers. It’s important to do some research before using these kinds of sources to avoid any unpleasant surprises when the time comes to write your paper.
Do You Feel Confident That The Source Is Reputable?
After you’ve determined that a particular source is reputable and you’ve decided that you want to use it for your paper, then it’s time to ask yourself a few more questions. Do you feel confident that this source is reliable? Are you sure that what they have to say is true? Thinking about these questions and whether or not you have confidence in the source is the best way to ensure that your paper is high-quality.
In some situations, you might find that there aren’t any comments at the end of the article. In these cases, there are a couple of things that you can do. First, you can leave your own comment letting other readers know that you found the source reputable and that it is a good idea to use it for your paper. You should also look at other sources to see if they have commented on this article or cited it in their own work.
How Does The Source Want To Be Cited?
After you’ve decided to use a particular source for your paper, then it’s time to think about how you want to be cited. You need to decide whether or not you want your source to be listed in the bibliography at the end of your paper. If you do want to include a bibliography, then you need to make sure that your source is properly cited. In the vast majority of situations, the best approach is to list the source with no indication of its size or authority. In other words, you don’t want to give the reader any hint that you’re using this source as a back-up or that you’re trying to sound authoritative.
Avoid Being Fooled By Poorly Designed Websites
Most people who are looking for sources for their papers are going to visit Google and enter their search term, followed by ‘site:’ (in this case ‘site:wikipedia.org’ to search the Wikipedia website). When they do this, they’ll usually see a few results at the top of the page. Take a look at these results to see if any of them are good candidates for your source. Poorly designed and heavily-promoted websites might look good, but they usually come from a low-quality source. If you find that none of the results at the top of the page seem worthwhile, then this is usually a sign that you’re not going to like the source that you find.