User:SlimVirgin/V

The appropriateness of any source depends on the context. In general, the best sources have a professional structure in place for checking or analyzing facts, legal issues, evidence, and arguments; as a rule of thumb, the greater the degree of scrutiny given to these issues, the more reliable the source.

Academic and peer-reviewed publications are usually the most reliable sources where available, but they are not the only reliable sources in such areas. Material from reliable non-academic sources may also be used, particularly if it appears in respected mainstream publications. Other reliable sources include university-level textbooks, books published by respected publishing houses, magazines, journals, and mainstream newspapers. Electronic media may also be used, subject to the same criteria.

The best sources for data in science, history, medicine, and other academic disciplines are usually scholarly sources, particularly peer-reviewed ones. Non-academic sources who write about this data may misreport or misinterpret it, and should usually not be relied upon exclusively as sources of that data. Non-academic sources, including high-quality mainstream media sources, may be used to report and interpret the socio-economic, political, and human impact of research in science, history, medicine, and other disciplines.