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Rider University Libraries

Choosing & Identifying the Best Source Types for Your Research

Learn about all the different source types and when they are appropriate and helpful to you in the research process: encyclopedias, Wikipedia, books, scholarly articles, popular articles and magazines, trade magazines, news, and websites!

At Your Fingertips, But Evaluate!

Make use of the REFERENCES and SOURCES to continue your research and double-check facts.

Why and When to Use Wikipedia

Source Types

Characteristics

Used for

Disadvantages

Wikipedia

·    An online encyclopedia.


·    Articles can be edited by anyone.


·    Contains broad subject areas.


·    Uses reliable sources as support.


·    Reliability of Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_of_Wikipedia)

·    Easy access for everyone.


·    Helpful background information on any topics.


·    May lead to valuable online sources and books and articles available through Rider University Libraries.

 

·      Authors not known.


·      Information is not reliable and can be misleading.


·      Quality among articles is not even.


·      Professors generally do not accept this as a valid source for scholarly work. Articles cannot be cited in papers.