Research projects and papers are often half the battle; there is always the works cited page to worry about. You’ve got all these books, a few websites here and there, and you have no idea what counts as a good source. What to do?

No matter what class you’re researching for, teachers usually have the phrase “credible source” on the tips of their tongues. Usually, the two most accessible types of references are books and websites.

Books are great, as they can be extremely detailed on the topic you’re learning about. Unless your topic is something of extreme obscurity or is a recent event or breakthrough, then it is most likely that there a multitude of types you can peruse. Books are also easier to extract information from, in some aspects; though you may not have shortcuts such as Ctrl+F, you can usually count on the book’s contents to have been well-researched already and approved by an editor and publisher, and therefore a more trustworthy source than Wikipedia. There might also be references to other works which you can look into for more information. Books don’t need the Internet to function; even if you’re disconnected, you can still take out a piece of paper and take notes on what you read. But beware— books should always be double-checked for their publishing date; relevance is strongly correlated with recency. Always scan through the book to double-check how the author writes. Is there bias within his or her words? When in doubt, always go with nonfiction, which only presents the facts, and is rarely embellished with opinionated speech. Primary sources also take top priority: why go with information that’s been filtered, when you can find first-hand accounts of your subject?

Meanwhile, websites are often excellent when it comes to quick overviews, when you need an “entry point” into your research. A quick Google search can pull up millions of different options, and you can cross reference quickly between different sites to paint a general picture of what you’re trying to learn. You can use whatever device you’re accessing the Internet with to your advantage; take notes on a Google Doc and search up that confusing word quickly! But keep in mind that the Internet is a wild place. Anyone can create their own site and write whatever they please. Sites you consider to be reliable could very well be someone’s opinion, which has no factual backing. When you find a site that looks legitimate, try to look for the author of the article or paper you’re using to check his credentials. Do your research on websites first; those with reputable backgrounds should be the only ones you choose to use. Always try to pick out multiple “good” sources in order to compare them. Even the best material can often contain mistakes, which might get transferred onto your project.

Now that you’ve gotten the information, how do you actually create a bibliography? Well, first, you must clarify with your teacher what kind of format he or she wants. There’s MLA, APA, Chicago, and all sorts of others. But usually, you’ll find that you’re required to use an MLA format. For this, you need one-inch margins, a 12-point font, and you’ll have to double-space it. Books and sites all go on the same sheet of paper, ordered alphabetically. Place the title of the page (Works Cited) in the center, an inch from the top. For citations that are a bit on the longer side, indent the second and any subsequent lines after it to create a hanging citation. There are plenty of tutorials and sites online that can help with this process. If you can’t be bothered to write out all these book titles and web addresses by hand, then you should consider EasyBib.com. You can choose between what format you need, and all you need is to type in either the title of the book or the site you used, and it will automatically format it into what you need. If you don’t want to paste it from the site, there’s also an EasyBib Add-On for Google Docs. This will directly add a page at the end of your writing, where all of your sources will be properly cited.

Learning to properly research is an important skill for any scholar. Citing work is crucial to avoid being labeled as a plagiarist. Once you’ve mastered the process, your project-making days will become exponentially easier.