Massey Hierarchy of Sources

[This taxonomy is subjective and reflects only what I generally consider to be most and least credible. Your specific audience may disagree.]

1) Articles appearing in academic journals:

2) National & International News Weeklies: [e.g., Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The Economist, etc.]

3) Books:

a) Academic Publishers [MIT University Press, U. of California Press, U. of Southern Illinois etc.]

b) Commercial Press – Double Day, Simon & Schuster, etc.

c) Trade Press – Sage etc.

4) Official University & Governmental Reports & Web Pages, Public agencies, and individual reputable researchers’ Web Pages

b) Studies and research reports - subject to credibility of sponsoring organization

[Online versions of authored publications and entities generally have the same credibility as their printed and published versions.]

5) News agencies [e.g., AP, UPI, Reuters, AFP]

c) National Newspapers – [e.g., Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, etc.]

6) T.V. and Radio Shows (including news shows)

7) Non-sponsored [no affiliation with a non-cyber organization] Internet sites and web pages

8) Anything that “everybody” knows