What is a credible source of information?
James Olson
Updated on March 18, 2026
A credible source is one that is written by someone who is an expert in their discipline and is free of errors and bias.
Can you access or locate other credible information sources?
Your school or public library can be your best resource for finding credible sources. You’ll not only have access to tons of magazines and books, but also to helpful librarians.
How can you tell if an online source is credible?
Make sure the source is written by a trustworthy author and/or institution. If you are using a webpage, you can usually identify the owner/publisher by the URL, or check for a copyright statement near the bottom of the page. Make sure the author has the proper credentials on the subject matter.
Why is Google Scholar bad?
Three bad things about Google Scholar It will include anything it finds on university web domains, so anyone with access to such a domain can easily game the system. Recently it has started to index stuff on academia.edu, a place without any quality control where anybody can upload anything for dissemination.
Are all articles on Google Scholar scholarly?
Unfortunately Google Scholar doesn’t have a setting that will allow you to restrict results only to peer-reviewed articles. If you find articles in Google Scholar, you would have to look up the journal the article is published in to find out whether they use peer review or not.
Is .gov credible?
gov = Government. All branches of the United States federal government use this domain. Information such as Census statistics, Congressional hearings, and Supreme Court rulings would be included in sites with this domain. The information is considered to be from a credible source.
Is .com a credible source?
About.com articles are not usually considered reliable or credible resource for use in academic research. The About.com guides are technically blogs providing opinions and do not necessarily contain vetted information. Note: “.com” websites are commercial websites and are usually selling something.
What’s the best way to find credible sources?
The purpose is to make sure that the content is not opinionated, but widely-agreed upon facts. When you research websites, there are some basic rules to when it comes to finding credible sources. Try to Find Recent Sources: A requirement for referencing is to use the most recent sources.
How to know if an article is credible?
Articles. The definition of a credible source can change depending on the discipline, but in general, for academic writing, a credible source is one that is unbiased and is backed up with evidence. When writing a research paper, always use and cite credible sources. Use this checklist to determine if an article is credible or not:
Which is the best search engine to find reliable sources?
If you use search engines, make sure they are reliable: Google Scholar, for example, is a great search engine that serves as an excellent tool for students by providing the most accurate, relevant, and up-to-date publications from institutions – all over the world.
How to know if a website is credible?
Check it for these factors: 1 Author 2 Contact information 3 Up-to-date material 4 Regularly revised information 5 Links to support every side fact 6 Informative purpose 7 No broken links on the page 8 No grammar or punctuation mistakes 9 No misspellings 10 Mentioned in scientific sources