Research help

Great question. A "good" source is both credible and relevant.

Relevancy means the source helps you answer your questions, learn widely about your topic, and think about your topic in new ways.

Credibility, when applied to an information source, means trustworthy. Trustworthiness is tricky to determine, but doable! Pause and ask questions about your source, beyond just what is in your source. CCC Library recommends either of these tools to help you evaluate your sources.

• The CRAP Test

• The SIFT Method

Ultimately it is up to you to determine — using research and your own critical judgment — whether a source is credible or not. And "credible" can mean something and look different to everyone. Your instructors expect you to use credible, authoritative information in your projects and papers, so be upfront and clear about why you trust the information you choose to use.

CCC Librarians are here to help you with this question, too. ♥

^{Abe adapted from public domain photo Abraham Lincoln [image]. (1863). Available from https://upload.wikimedia.org/}

The CRAP Test is a tool to guide you through deciding if a source meets your definition of credible.

C.R.A.P. stands for Currency, Reliability, Authority and Purpose / Point of View.

The SIFT Method is specifically built to help you spot misinformation and disinformation. It is a set of four fact-checking strategies that guide you through quickly making a decision about whether or not a source is worthy of your attention and trust.