1. Possible sources and what to look for:
- Eyewitness account: Make sure the person who claims to have been there was there
- Research claim: Check researcher's level of expertise, description of process, and peer reviewed (this catches potential errors)
- Newspaper article: Where did they get their information (who did they talk to, what sources were referenced) and does the publication have a reputation for catching and correcting errors?)
- Journal article: Find out if it is a well-regarded journal by doing an "impact factor" (Note that the impact factor is for the journal and not the individual article.)
- Organization: Who are they? How did they come to their conclusion(s)?
2. Look at the people involved with writing and publishing the claim. What is their expertise?
3. What to do if source is determined to be unreliable.
- Try to trace claim back further
- Know that often you will come to a dead end because some claims are not sourceable to reliable sources.