When using information for your reseach paper, you need to know if the author is a credible source. Ask yourself, "Is the author an expert in this particular field of study? Does the article give any background information on the author? Does the author have advanced degrees in that subject area(e.d. PhD)?"
To find additional information on an author, you can look at biographical reference sources, which are books containing information about a person's life, work, and professional accomplishments. These sources can help you to determine the author's importance in a particular field. Examples of biographical sources are Who's Who in America and Contemporary Authors, both available in the reference section of most libraries.