Fake News: Reliable research resources
Reliable research resources
Using research sources that you can trust is more important than ever. Recent research studies have shown that asking people to “do the research” on fake news stories makes them seem more believable, not less. This happens because a Google search on a fake topic may retrieve multiple results from low-quality information sources that can mislead the researcher into believing that the false story is real.
Find reliable research sources by searching trustworthy news sources and library databases, which provide access to published information in magazines and academic journals.
How to choose your news (TED-ED five minutes)
Trustworthy news sources
No news source gets everything right 100% of the time and is completely free of bias. Here are some characteristics of the best news sources.
- Practice fact-based journalism grounded in professional ethics
- Clearly separate opinion (editorial) and news stories
Read more about the Characteristics of Reputable News Sources (from UC Merced library guide)
Examples of news sources that practice fact-based journalism:
- New York Times (center-left perspective)
- Wall Street Journal (center-right perspective)
- Al-Jazeera and BBC (international perspective)
- U.S. Major Dailies (library databases that searches five of the nation's top news sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune)
Sources for checking the media bias of news sources:
Google News Custom Search
This Google Custom Search only searches the following 10 news sites, selected by PCC librarians and instructors, as reasonably reliable news sources that practice fact-based journalism. The sites searches include a mix of national and interrnation news sources: Al-Jazeera; BBC; Christian Science Monitor; Economist; New York Times; ProPublica; PBS; Reuters; Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Search library databases
Library databases provide access to published articles from magazines, newspapers, and academic journals. Unlike some of the search results you will get from a web search, the published articles in database are almost always written by professionals and reviewed by an editor, which improves reliability.
Choosing which database to search depends on your topic. To find out which database would work well for your topic use the subject based research guides for your topic's discipline (to find people who will write articles about the topic). You can also use the Articles and Databases link for a complete listing of available databases. Here are some good options for many topics:
- EBSCOhost This link opens in a new windowSearch from a wide range of research databases for magazine and journal articles. Updated daily. View the EBSCOhost handout
Mobile URL: EBSCOhost Mobile - Opposing Viewpoints (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new windowA one-stop source for information on current social issues. Includes viewpoint articles on both sides of an issue, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full text magazine and newspaper articles. View the Opposing Viewpoints handout [pdf]
- CQ Researcher This link opens in a new windowTopical, full text reports on controversial issues. Each report features a summary, chronology, and bibliography. Updated weekly.
- PsycINFO This link opens in a new windowStart here if you are looking for scholarly (peer-reviewed) psychology articles. PsycINFO is the single most comprehensive psychology article collection. Full-text articles from PsycARTICLES are included here. View the PsycINFO handout [pdf].
- US Major Dailies This link opens in a new windowFull text newspapers from five U.S. national and regional newspapers: New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune