WR 121 Robillard: Get Started

Use this guide to help you with your research project:

     Higher education in the U.S.

Four (4) reliable sources are required for your annotated bibliography and also for your other genre of writing.  Sources can be used to provide you with:

• Facts, statistics, expert testimony
• Specific examples
• Credible quotes

Use the tabs above to navigate to the other pages of this guide:

• Find Sources - To find books, electronic books, and articles from popular or scholarly journals in the library databases.
• MLA Citations - For tips and tools for citing your sources and avoiding plagiarism. 
• Get Help - Get help from a librarian 24/7, get assistance from a tutor, or find a handout or tutorial to help you get started with your research.

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Finding reliable or credible sources is key to any research task, for school or for life.  Here are a few questions to ask yourself about the sources you are considering to determine if they are credible or reliable:

• Does the author have relevant experience and/or education to write about the topic? What is the reputation of the publication?
• Did the author cite or interview experts? Can you go to the sources themselves?
• Do other sources about the same topic have similar information?
• What is the perspective and bias of the magazine/newspaper generally? 
• What do other people say about the reliability or bias of the magazine/newspaper/website?
• Can you tell if there is money to be made from the information you’ve found? Sometimes a commercial agenda can distort information or leave out important counter-arguments.