Wikipedia:Tiers of reliability

Peer-reviewed publications

 * Peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, e.g. Science or Nature
 * Literature reviews, systematic reviews, and other review articles
 * Peer-reviewed conference papers
 * Examples:

Academic books

 * Books published by university presses, e.g. Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press
 * Specialist encyclopedias, e.g. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
 * Examples:
 * David W. Stowe (2011). No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807878002.
 * Linda Solomon (2019). The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 9780814347294

Non-peer-reviewed academic publications

 * Non-peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, e.g. Science or Nature
 * Book reviews in academic journals
 * Non-peer-reviewed conference papers
 * Example:

Mass-market books

 * "Big Five (publishers): Hachette, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster
 * Example: Craig Werner (2007). Higher Ground Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307420879.

Highly-reputable international journalism

 * BBC
 * The New York Times
 * The Wall Street Journal
 * The Washington Post
 * Los Angeles Times
 * The Economist
 * Foreign Affairs
 * International wire services: Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
 * Example: "Obituary: Aretha Franklin" (August 16, 2018). BBC News.

Other generally reliable news sources

 * National and international journalism that is less than top-rated
 * Regional and local news ("Channel 5 news", local newspapers)
 * Trade publications
 * Any source listed as green at WP:RSP would be at least in this tier
 * Example: Brian McCollum (August 16, 2018). "Aretha Franklin dies at 76: Detroit star transformed American music". Detroit Free Press.

Expert self-published

 * Snow Lion Publications
 * Example: Charles Kronengold, interviewed by Robin Wander (August 29, 2018). "Stanford musicologist reflects on 'multimusical' Aretha Franklin". Stanford University.

Non-expert self-published

 * Official websites, brochures and other promotional materials
 * Opinion/editorial (see WP:RSOPINION)
 * vanity press
 * predatory publishing
 * churnalism
 * government propaganda
 * Theses
 * Examples:
 * Aretha Franklin Official Website
 * Michael Eric Dyson (August 16, 2018). "The Church of Aretha Franklin: How the Queen of Soul preached to us all" (op-ed). The New York Times.
 * Pamela J. Greene (December 1995). "Aretha Franklin: The Emergence of Soul and Black Women's Consciousness in the Late 1960s and 1970s"] (PhD dissertation). Graduate College, Bowling Green State University.

Questionable sources

 * Sources listed as yellow at WP:RSP
 * Example: Samatha Schnurr (August 16, 2018). "Aretha Franklin, "Queen of Soul," Dead at 76". E! News.