Evaluate any source you find by looking at these 5 areas and asking these questions.
Research papers will often require you to use a variety of different types of sources. Once you have found sources on your topic, it's important to understand the types of information a source provides to you. Each of your sources must help you address/answer your research question in some way. A general way to categorize these types of information is by considering if a source provides data you can analyze, arguments you can engage with, or background information to contextualize your topic.
