...PUBLISHER/PRODUCER is well-respected, academically reputable, and objective, not biased.

Examples: A university press; a professional organization with a reputation for providing accurate, unbiased information; an academic institution; a government agency, e.g., NASA.

...LEVEL written for a college audience (or above).

Examples: Uses appropriate vocabulary; is subjected to a peer-review process. Peer-reviewed journals publish articles in a specific field of study,  written by experts and approved by an editorial board of subject specialists.

...AUTHOR is a recognized expert, has appropriate college and graduate degrees, has published often on the topic to good reviews, or whose article has been "peer-reviewed."

Examples: An author's name is followed by graduate degrees; his/her name is followed by a list of quality publications on the same topic; he/she is a college professor at a prestigious institution.

...DATE of publication is provided.

Examples: A source may be published 5, 50, or 500 years after your subject lived which may effect its point of view; a website may have been abandoned by its creators 3 years ago.

...SOURCE informs; it is objective and does not try to SELL goods, services, or political or social points of view.

Examples: Most books found in college libraries; articles from scholarly journals; Web sites whose domain extensions are .edu, .or .gov; Web sites whose domain extensions are .org (but which should still be reviewed carefully for biases and "agendas").