Q. How do I tell if something is a good source to use?

If it’s a book, see if there is information about the table of contents, or if you can find reviews, especially in scholarly (peer-reviewed) journals.

If it’s an article, check out the abstract, the introduction, and conclusion to see if the article addresses information that you need.

Always consider how current the information is, and whether the source has obvious biases like inflammatory language or suspicious claims.