Use this guide when you need reliable information for a course, a piece of work or an important decision. Have a clear question in mind and a document or notebook for recording sources.
Step by step
Turn your topic into a question
Write down exactly what you want to find out, such as 'What are the main causes of X?' rather than just 'X'. Pick out the key words and a few alternatives or synonyms. A clear question stops you drifting through endless search results.
Start with trustworthy places
Begin with sources that are usually checked carefully, such as official bodies, universities, established reference works, library databases and reputable publishers. For UK public information, government, NHS and regulator websites are good starting points. Use a general search engine too, but treat its results as leads to check.
Check each source
Ask who wrote it and what their expertise is, when it was published or updated, and what evidence it gives. Consider why it exists: to inform, to sell, to persuade or to entertain. Be wary of anonymous claims, missing dates, strong emotional language and no references.
Cross-check key facts
Look for at least two independent, reliable sources that agree on any important fact or figure. Follow claims back to the original research or data where you can. If sources disagree, note that and look at which has better evidence.
Be careful with AI and social media
AI chat tools can give confident answers that are wrong or cite sources that do not exist. Social media posts and short videos can spread quickly without being checked. Use them only as starting points and confirm anything important in a reliable source.
Record your sources
For each useful source, note the author, title, date, publisher or website and where to find it, plus a line on what it says. If you are writing an assignment, check which referencing style your course uses. Keeping this as you go saves hours later and helps you avoid accidental plagiarism.
Ready-to-use checklist
- Research question written
- Key words and synonyms listed
- Trusted starting sources used
- Author and date checked for each source
- Purpose of each source considered
- Key facts confirmed in two sources
- AI answers verified elsewhere
- Source details recorded
Practical tips
- Ask a librarian for help; they are trained to find reliable information and can show you useful databases.
- Read beyond the headline, as it often oversimplifies what the article says.
- Save or print important pages, as websites can change or disappear.
Common problems
You find hundreds of results and do not know where to start.
Narrow your question and add specific terms, dates or places to your search. Start with an overview from a reliable reference source, then look for more detail.
Two sources give different figures.
Check the dates, definitions and where each figure came from. Use the more recent, better-evidenced source and mention the disagreement if it matters.
You cannot tell who wrote a web page.
Look for an 'about us' page, author details and contact information. If you still cannot tell who is responsible, treat the page with caution and find a better source.
This guide gives general information, not personal legal, financial or medical advice. Rules and prices change, so check the current position with the official service before acting.
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