Wikipedia:Tiers of reliability#Tier 3: reliable

{{essay|WP:TIERS|interprets=the accepted levels of evidence on Wikipedia}}

Tier 1: most reliable

= Peer-reviewed publications =

{{further|List of academic databases and search engines|Lists of academic journals}}

Peer-reviewed articles in academic journals
Literature reviews, systematic reviews, and other review articles
Peer-reviewed conference papers
Examples:
{{cite journal |doi=10.1017/S0261143014000270|title='Find out what it means to me': Aretha Franklin's gendered re-authoring of Otis Redding's 'Respect' |year=2014 |last1=Malawey |first1=Victoria |journal=Popular Music |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=185–207 |s2cid=161360928 }}
{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/0740770X.2016.1183981|title=Souls intact: The soul performances of Audre Lorde, Aretha Franklin, and Nina Simone |year=2016 |last1=Lordi |first1=Emily J. |journal=Women & Performance |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=55–71 |s2cid=194498055 }}

= Academic books =

Books published by university presses, e.g. Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press
Specialist encyclopedias, e.g. Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
Examples:
David W. Stowe (2011). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/No_Sympathy_for_the_Devil/1IUxbVidraoC No Sympathy for the Devil: Christian Pop Music and the Transformation of American Evangelicalism]. University of North Carolina Press. {{ISBN|9780807878002}}.
Linda Solomon (2019). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Queen_Next_Door/NweHDwAAQBAJ The Queen Next Door: Aretha Franklin, An Intimate Portrait]. Wayne State University Press. {{ISBN|9780814347294}}

Tier 2: more reliable

= Non-peer-reviewed academic publications =

Non-peer-reviewed articles in academic journals, e.g. Science [https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/nih-director-apologizes-structural-racism-pledges-actions] or Nature [https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00432-1]
Book reviews in academic journals
Non-peer-reviewed conference papers
Example: {{cite journal |doi=10.1525/jpms.2019.311002|title=Remembering Aretha Franklin |year=2019 |last1=Fink |first1=Robert |last2=Weisbard |first2=Eric |last3=Dibbell |first3=Carola |last4=Christgau |first4=Georgia |last5=Tate |first5=Greg |last6=Denise |first6=Dj Lynnée |journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=3–14 |s2cid=150034745 }}

= Mass-market books =

"Big Five (publishers): Hachette, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster
Example: Craig Werner (2007). [https://www.google.com/books/edition/Higher_Ground/Y5uyLgEfk34C Higher Ground Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Curtis Mayfield, and the Rise and Fall of American Soul]. Crown Publishing Group. {{ISBN|9780307420879}}.

= Highly-reputable international journalism =

BBC
The New York Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post
Los Angeles Times
The Economist
Foreign Affairs
International wire services: Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
Example: [https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-11950661 "Obituary: Aretha Franklin"] (August 16, 2018). BBC News.

Tier 3: reliable

= Tertiary sources =

{{further

|Wikipedia:Identifying and using tertiary sources |l1=Identifying and using tertiary sources (WP:TERTIARYUSE)

|Wikipedia:Tertiary-source fallacy |l2=Tertiary-source fallacy (WP:TSF)

|Wikipedia:Dictionaries as sources |l3=Dictionaries as sources (WP:DICTS)

}}

General reference works, e.g. Encyclopædia Britannica, Oxford English Dictionary
Example: [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aretha-Franklin "Aretha Franklin"] (March 21, 2021). Encyclopaedia Britannica.

= Other generally reliable news sources =

{{further|WP:RSP|l1=WP:Reliable sources/Perennial sources| Wikipedia:Otto Middleton (or why newspapers are dubious sources) |l2=Otto Middleton (or why newspapers are dubious sources) (WP:OTTO)}}

National and international journalism that is less than top-rated
Regional and local news ("Channel 5 news", local newspapers)
Trade publications
Any source listed as green at WP:RSP would be at least in this tier
Example: Brian McCollum (August 16, 2018). [https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/2018/08/16/aretha-franklin-dies/309137002/ "Aretha Franklin dies at 76: Detroit star transformed American music"]. Detroit Free Press.

= Expert self-published =

Snow Lion Publications [https://www.shambhala.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/03.pdf]
Doctoral theses
Example: Charles Kronengold, interviewed by Robin Wander (August 29, 2018). [https://news.stanford.edu/2018/08/29/stanford-musicologist-reflects-multimusical-aretha-franklin/ "Stanford musicologist reflects on 'multimusical' Aretha Franklin"]. Stanford University.

Tier 4: limited use

= Non-expert self-published =

{{further|Wikipedia:Vanity and predatory publishing |l1=Vanity and predatory publishing (WP:VANPRED) |WP:ABOUTSELF}}

Official websites, brochures and other promotional materials
Opinion/editorial (see WP:RSOPINION)
vanity press
predatory publishing
churnalism
government propaganda
Undergraduate and graduate theses
Examples:
[https://www.arethafranklin.net/ Aretha Franklin Official Website]
Michael Eric Dyson (August 16, 2018). [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/opinion/aretha-franklin-church-detroit.html "The Church of Aretha Franklin: How the Queen of Soul preached to us all"] (op-ed). The New York Times.
Pamela J. Greene (December 1995). "Aretha Franklin: The Emergence of Soul and Black Women's Consciousness in the Late 1960s and 1970s"] (PhD dissertation). Graduate College, Bowling Green State University.

= Questionable sources =

Sources listed as yellow at WP:RSP
Example: Samatha Schnurr (August 16, 2018). [https://www.eonline.com/news/959719/aretha-franklin-queen-of-soul-dead-at-76 "Aretha Franklin, "Queen of Soul," Dead at 76"]. E! News.

= Primary sources =

{{further|Wikipedia:Identifying and using primary sources |l1=Identifying and using primary sources (WP:USEPRIMARY)}}