How to Conduct Academic Research

You should carefully evaluate all information, whether from a book, article, or website, by asking the following questions.

• Who?  Who is the author of this source?
  • Are they qualified to write/speak on the subject?
  • Do you detect any bias on the author’s part in relation to the subject?
• What? What is the source?
  • Does it have a title?
  • Is it a primary source, such as an original document or creative work or is it a secondary source, such as a report or analysis of primary sources?
  • Is it authoritative or trustworthy?
• How?
  • How was the source produced?
  • Who is the publisher or sponsoring organization?
• Where did you find the source?
  • Was it through a library’s databases or through an internet search engine that may list results in a biased or weighted manner?
• When was the source published? 
  • Has it been replaced or updated?

MLA Handbook. 8^th ed., The Modern Language Association, 2016, pp. 11-12.