Credible Sources

Finding sources have never been an issue for me. However, it is critical that the kinds of resources that I find are the right ones. Credible sources are extremely important in writing academic essays. Most of the time you can not do a quick Google search and find credible resources. There are some steps you can take to assure that you find good resources every time. According to the online article “Using Research and Evidence” by Purdue University, the first step to finding out if a source is credible is asking yourself “Who is the author?”. Does this author have authority? Do they have the credentials to be writing about this topic? Those are extremely important questions to ask yourself when determining whether or not a source is credible. Second, ask yourself “Is this website reputable?”. It is important that you do not “use websites where an author cannot be determined, unless the site is associated with a reputable institution…”. Last, but not least, you should look to see “how recent the source is”. There are instances where you might not find up to date sources for topic, such as the American Civil War. However, other topics “that are experiencing rapid changes, need to be much more current”. It is crucial for you to determine whether or not your topic needs current sources, or can get by with some that are a bit out of date. I hope that gives you some insight into finding reputable sources, as it is so important for academic essays. Always make sure you check the author, the website/source, and when it was published. You never know what could make the difference between getting an A or not. Good luck everyone!