Some Valuable Tips for Finding Sources Online

The age of information brings together the journalists’ best friend and worst enemy: the internet. With such incredible streams of information available at one’s fingertips, how could the internet be an enemy for the journalist; who thrives on information? 

The internet is the genesis of the availability of said information, yes, but as the internet remains largely unregulated, that means any type of information is available—including misinformation and disinformation. The click-revenue model also encourages a lot of secondary sources and conflations of information which may or may not be accurate to post their versions of the truth all around the internet in order to make some money. 

Moreover the sheer availability of sources can be overwhelming. As a journalist you’ll want to make this research as easy on yourself as possible, and develop a process that you can always fall back on to start looking for good sources.

Here are some always reliable ways to find credible sources.

WIKIPEDIA

Largely touted as an unreliable source in its early years because of the “anyone can edit” adage, Wikipedia can now begin the journey for information more easily than once thought possible. Though the article itself is not a primary source, Wikipedia articles cite sources via footnotes. Those citations will either contain a link to the primary source, or a properly cited bibliography if the research is only available in print. Either way, that is one way to build up an arsenal of primary leads and sources as you work on gathering information.

ONLINE LIBRARIES

Some public libraries and some university libraries (such as the one at Fordham) have digitized access to thousands and thousands of primary sources; including historic documents, newspapers from across time and history, and other pieces to cover all of your primary (and secondary) source bases. These are also useful for expanding outside of journalism: if you are writing a piece where you need scientific research to back up your thesis, then you can find research through these universities—and therefore, primary sources.

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Library of Congress has digitized a staggering amount of American history. Everything from photos, to articles, to video, audio, maps, notated music, and drawings are available at a simple click. All of these sources are verifiable and easily obtained. This is also a good place to scout for names who may be helpful, as all digitized journalism (especially those that are up to date) contain bylines.

PROFNET

ProfNet is especially useful for working investigative journalists. Founded in 1992 by the PR Newswire for Journalists, professionals use ProfNet on a regular basis to seek out time-sensitive information and put out queries for experts in foreign regions. The resource also allows journalists to cloak their names and organizations so as to protect their identities.

HARO

”Help A Reporter Out” is the self-described biggest “source suppository” on the internet. Journalists submit their pitch to the community and then receive source leads from active members. About 200 pitches per day are submitted to HARO and over 100,000 sources are available through the site. 

If you know where to look, the internet is your best friend, but without a starting point you are overwhelmed with options. Using these simple jumping points will help you focus your search and save you time and worry on if your sources would be credible.