You should evaluate resources before you reference them. When you evaluate a resource, you can decide how trustworthy the information is. Evaluation isn't usually a yes-or-no, clear-cut situation. You may find that the resource has some minor quality or content issues, but it would still be valuable for your work. Please consult your professor about quality concerns you have with items you have found.
You have searched a database (or Google Scholar) and have found an article about your topic! It has great keywords, and the abstract is interesting. Before you use the article in your research paper, pause and check:
What kind of article did I find?
The same journal can publish different types of articles. These article types might not all go through peer review (be refereed). Not all article types will be appropriate for your research. The type of article should be listed by the journal, but it isn't always. Article types can include book review, editorial, opinion piece, case study, research article...
Not all publishers label their article types! Be on the lookout to check what type of article you have accessed!
Look at different article types with me in this Article Types Video.
Book reviews are written to help people decided if they are interested in reading a book. Book reviews are usually not peer-reviewed. They do not include research. Book reviews are likely never a good resource choice when researching a topic.
Book Review Example. You can identify a book review by its common elements:
Editorials are written by the editors of an entire journal or a specific journal issue. Editorials are usually not peer-reviewed. They do not include research. Editorials are not likely to be a good research choice.
Editorial Example. You can identify an editorial by its common elements:
Opinion pieces are written by anyone. Opinion pieces are usually not peer-reviewed, but they may have been reviewed by an editor before publication. This is not as rigorous as peer-review. Opinion pieces are not likely to be a good research choice, unless you are researching something like a discipline's attitude towards a subject.
Opinion Example. You can identify an opinion piece by its common elements:
Books can be scholarly works. Books may have: an expert author, a scholarly publisher, and proof that the book is built on research. They may or may not have book reviews, but book reviews can be helpful to understand the book's contents and quality.
Sometimes, it is appropriate to use websites as resources for research projects. Always evaluate a website for usefulness, accuracy, and trustworthiness before using the website as a reference. Even when using a website for personal research, always evaluate the likely accuracy of the content. This will help you avoid misinformation or disinformation.
You can evaluate a website by some criteria. You can use these criteria to form an impression of a website. If the website fails any of these criteria, it doesn't automatically make the website a "bad source":
Finally, ask yourself these questions: