How do you know you can trust a source that you want to use for a research paper?

• Select two of the following and discuss if you can use the source in a history research paper.
  • A newspaper article from a major daily source, such as the New York Times
  • A newspaper article from a small town weekly source, such as the Brownsburg Bee
  • A novel or fictional account written at the time you are studying
  • An oral interview you completed on a person in his or her 80s or 90s concerning events from 50 years before. (e.g. a Vietnam veteran of the 1960s in 2016)
  • An oral interview taped in the 1960s about the 1930s from someone who was an adult in 1930.
  • A personal journal from the 1840s (e.g. the diary of a prominent person).
  • A Wikipedia article on the New Deal
  • A professional-looking website focused on 18th century history
  • A travel guide, popular in the mid-19th century, of a town or city
  • A "Booster" guide to the city of Cincinnati, circa 1850, sent by the Chamber of Commerce to businesses throughout the East Coast.
  • State records, such as land sales or tax reports, from 1890
  • U.S. government reports from the early 1900s
  • U.S.S.R. (Soviet Union) government reports from the 1950s
  • An academic journal article (e.g., Journal of American History)
  • A church bulletin from 1850 that lists the hymns to be sung and announcements
  • Centralized church records from the 1870s (e.g., United Methodist records of all the churches in the Ohio district).
  • A membership list of a philanthropic organization from 1976
  • A news journal article, such as Time or Newsweek, from the 1950s