Look at whether the assignment specifies using peer-reviewed articles, newspaper articles, data, books, and/or videos. You will look for these different sources in different places (see below).
The topic you are researching will have an impact on the kinds of sources you can find. For example, some topics are more likely to be covered in books, and others are more likely to be covered in the news. You may not be able to find books or peer-reviewed articles on very current topics because they take a long time to publish.
A topic like "race relations in prisons" might be explored by scholars in sociology, law, criminal justice, public policy, psychology, or ethnic studies. You can see which sources are recommended by librarians for each discipline in our Research Guides.