How to Find Credible Source for Your Essay

You get enough more than enough hassle out of essay assignments, don’t you? Just writing one is a pretty extensive endeavor that requires a whole lot of strategies, techniques and little tricks. Before you can even begin writing, though, you face a problem. You need support for your essay – research – and the question becomes: where do you find credible sources? How do you know that the research you’re gathering is authentic, accurate and scholarly? In a world run by the internet, it can be tempting to try and use any supporting evidence found at any random site. However, if students really want to craft well composed essays full of credible information, they need to find trustworthy sources. There are three very simple places that students can go to get these essential, scholarly research resources:

• The school library. Libraries are full of great resources just ripe for the picking. Never underestimate your school library and never be afraid to go searching in one. College libraries will have the widest variety of journal, magazines and books available to students, though public libraries may also carry a wide variety of scholarly sources. Sometimes, it’s actually safer to use this public facility than it is to use an online search engine!
• Certain magazines, newspapers and other printed material. This kind of source may be available in libraries, but often it must be sought elsewhere. Sometimes, you can get these articles online. Magazine and newspapers can be credible because they are informative, review world events and often involve statistical data. Just avoid magazines that are obviously non-credible, such as tabloids.
• Searching online –carefully. There is a huge amount of information on the internet, and only a small percentage of it can be considered ‘scholarly.’ To find credible sources for your essay through online means, you need to be very careful about where you gather information (blog pages and wikipedia are a big no). Online encyclopedias, college databases and research databases are your best bet. Make sure the database you use is backed by a credible educational or research organization.

When students use their brains and put in a little effort, finding credible sources for their essays really isn’t that difficult. Use the right kinds of sources – sources you know you can trust – and you’ll be guaranteed to get great quality research. The next time you tackle an essay, use one of these methods to make your essay an impressive masterpiece of research and writing.