Here are some useful ideas to consider when doing academic research and evaluating the reliability of sources.

The Research Process: This library page explains the basics of the research process, from finding a topic, to finding articles, evaluating websites, writing a research proposal, writing tips, and sharing your research.

Is it scholarly?: Tips on how to identify if an article, work, or website is scholarly or not.

Using Peer-Reviewed Research: Outlines some basic questions and answers on what is refereed and peer review research. Also shows how to identify a peer reviewed article.

Google: Although Google may be useful for your research, it is not considered an academic resource. Google is driven by market and other commercially driven considerations, and it will not show results based on an academic inquiry.

Google Scholar is the academic side of Google. However, it might not provide absolute coverage, or even applicable, to your topic. Since it is a free service many journals do not post articles here and stay within academic databases.

Wikipedia is a free online reference site. Although some pages are reviewed by other members, there's is no guarantee that those writing or reviewing are scholars. The consistency with how information is edited in wikipedia also poses problems, since what might be there today might not be there tomorrow. Wikipedia's priority is to provide quick and online reference that is easily updated, bypassing academic rigurosity. It should not be cited in an academic paper.