Students don't always realize that research sources that are considered perfectly acceptable one year may not be so acceptable the next year! This happens because teachers expect research skills to improve a little bit each year.
One improvement is the sophistication level of the sources. Encyclopedias, web sites, and magazines are good examples of sources that are acceptable for beginning researchers. Once students progress into high school and beyond, however, things change!
Through high school and college, popular magazines may become off-limits as sources. The reliability of information varies very much from one to another, and magazine writers don't often list their sources. That's a problem for advanced researchers, since it is important for good researchers to be able to track down the origins of their information.
Teachers will expect students to be very selective about the web sites they use, as well. There are certain clues to look for to determine the reliability of a web site.
And at a certain level, teachers will also begin to expect students to venture way beyond encyclopedias as sources. Instead, instructors will often suggest that student use encyclopedias as background reading. For mature students, encyclopedias are great for gaining a solid foundation before the serious research begins.
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