Guide to Choosing Reliable Academic Citation Sources (2024)

In college, you will be expected to write research papers that use reliable academic citation sources. But what are reliable academic citation sources, how do you choose them, and why are they so important?

What are reliable academic citation sources?

Reliable academic citation sources are the papers, articles, and books that you used to research your paper.

Here is an example of a citation from LibGuide, which has an excellent article about using citations.

“In any academic writing, you are required to identify for your reader which ideas, facts, theories, concepts, etc., are yours and which are derived from the research and thoughts of others. Whether you summarize, paraphrase, or use direct quotes, if it’s not your original idea, the source must be acknowledged. The only possible exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a commonly known fact [e.g., George Washington was the first president of the United States]. Appreciate, however, that any ‘commonly known fact’ is culturally constructed and shaped by social and aesthetical biases. If you are in doubt about whether a fact is common knowledge or not, protect yourself from an allegation of plagiarism and provide a supporting citation, or ask your professor for clarification.”

Why do we need to use reliable academic citation sources?

In academic writing, you MUST cite your sources. There are many reasons why your papers require credible sources. Here are just a few:

1. Citing the work of other people shows that you have done your research (and gives you credibility). This shows that you have put time and effort into developing your argument. You have read the works of others to help you create your opinion, which you argue in the paper.
2. Citing gives credit to the authors and helps you to avoid plagiarizing. Plagiarizing (using another person’s words or ideas without giving them credit) is a serious offense in college. Students can receive an “F” (a failing grade) for their class or even be removed from college if they plagiarize.
3. Citations provide the reader with further reading. After the reader finishes your paper, it is possible that he or she would like to read more about this subject. Citations allow them to locate your sources easily.
4. Citations protect you from misinformation. What happens if you use a source, and later another researcher proves that this is incorrect? (For example, for years it was believed that Pluto was a planet: scientists now do not classifying it as a planet.) Properly citing your sources allows you to show who said what: if it’s later proved to be wrong, the original author is incorrect and you are not.

Finding reliable academic citation sources

There are many ways to find reliable academic citation sources. Here are some of them.

Academic journals

Academic journals contain research papers written by professionals within a specific field. (For example, the Journal of American Psychologists has articles written by psychologists who practice in the United States.)

Academic journals are excellent citation sources because they are peer reviewed. This means that the articles are read and edited by other professionals in the same field of study. The process to get published is often very long and difficult, which means that the articles you read in these journals have had many rounds of edits by qualified editors.

When you are enrolled in a college, you will get a login that provides you access to many academic journals. (Otherwise, you have to pay.) JSTOR and EBSCO Host are probably the two best databases that contain subscription access to numerous journals: try these first if your school subscribes to these databases. Google Scholar is another great way to access academic journals. Microsoft also has Microsoft Academic Search, which is similar.

Books

What better way to research than to use a traditional book? Just like academic journals, many books from trusted publishers must have extensive edits. Try your school library and your local library if you’re looking for a book in person; online, use Google Books, which is an excellent resource. Google Books will allow you to look inside many books that are about the topic you’re researching.

Teachers/professionals

Teachers, professionals within your field of study, and even librarians are excellent resources when you are researching a topic. Do not be afraid to ask them for assistance! Who knows? Your school might even have a special section that contains books, magazines, or journals on the topic you’re studying. You will not know until you ask a librarian.

Websites

Not all websites are created equal: some have more credibility than others. The end of the website address will often help you decide if the site is credible: websites that end in .edu or .gov are often excellent resources. A lot of .org websites are also great.

If you’re looking online, you’re probably going to start with a search engine like Yahoo or Google or Bing. Keep in mind that these search engines do not always provide the best results: you might have to use their “Advanced Search” options to narrow down your results.

Evaluating If an Academic Citation Source Is Reliable

Once you’ve found your sources, be sure to evaluate them before using them. Ask yourself the following questions:

1. Who is the author?
2. Is this person an expert? Why should I trust his or her opinion?
3. Has this person written a lot about this topic? (Try Google Scholar to find out.)
4. Have people referenced this person’s work? (Use Google Scholar to find out: it will tell you what other papers cite this paper.)
5. Who is the publisher?
6. Is this a credible publisher in its industry?
7. Does the content seem to be free of bias? (And is this bias “OK” in regard to your paper?)
8. If this is a website, what is the URL? Do you see a reason it could be biased?
9. Does there seem to be an agenda to the writing?
10. If this is a website, are there ads? Do they point to a bias?
11. Does the source use credible citations?
12. Does it link to other websites? Which ones?
13. Is it a recent source? (The more recent, the better.)
14. Does the website or publisher have a Wikipedia page? This is a great place to learn a little about it and see if there is some potential bias.

As you can see, finding and evaluating reliable sources is a lengthy process! But in the end, it will help you to write a well-researched and well-developed paper that you will be proud of.

Good luck writing your papers!