When Wikipedia Won't Cut It: 25 Online Sources for Reliable, Researched Facts

Although Wikipedia is a great place to find information, it's subject to incomplete citations, biased views, and inaccuracies. And when you absolutely have to have undisputable facts, that's just not good enough. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives out there that can deliver with high quality accuracy, and we've listed 25 of the best here.

1. Citizendium: This wiki focuses on credibility, using both the general public and credentialed experts. It works just like Wikipedia, but better.
2. AmericanFactFinder: This database from the US Census Bureau is a great source for information on housing, economics, geography and population.
3. The Linguist List: The Linguist List is home to a peer-reviewed database of language and language-family information.
4. Intute: Created by a network of UK universities and partners, this database is full of evaluations from subject specialists.
5. Classic Encyclopedia: This online encyclopedia is based on the 1911 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Brittannica. Although quite old, it offers an in-depth look on more than 40,000 items, and it's widely considered to be the best encyclopedias ever written.
6. Virtual Reference Shelf: This Library of Congress site offers a number of high quality selected web resources.
7. MedBioWorld: Get professional medical and biotechnology information from this resource for journals, reference tools, databases, and more.
8. Library Spot: Check out this site for libraries online, a reading room, reference desk, and more.
9. FactCheck.org: FactCheck.org researches politics and delivers the truth on candidates and more.
10. iTools: Use iTools' research tools to find facts and theories on just about any subject.
11. Browse Topics: Maintained by professional librarians, this site links to Federal websites that offer facts.
12. WWW Virtual Library: Created by Tim Berners-Lee, who also created HTML and the Web, this library uses experts to compile high quality information.
13. Open Site: Open Site uses volunteer editors to offer a fair, impartial Internet encyclopedia.
14. CredoReference: CredoReference aggregates content from some of the best publishers in reference, offering more than 3 million reference entries.
15. Internet Public Library: In the Internet Public Library, you'll find references for nearly every subject out there.
16. Infoplease: Infoplease offers an entire suite of reference materials, including an atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia, and almanacs.
17. STAT-USA/Internet: This service of the US Department of Commerce offers information on business, economics, trade, and more.
18. Mathematica: Mathematica, the Wolfram Library Archive, offers research and information on math, science, and more.
19. Refdesk: Refdesk calls itself the single best resource for facts, and it delivers. Visit this online reference desk to find facts in their tools, facts-at-a-glance, or facts search desk.
20. AskOxford: This reference tool from Oxford University Press offers facts and tips on the English language and more.
21. The Old Farmer's Almanac: Whether you're searching for weather, food, gardening, or beyond, you'll find what you need in this online almanac.
22. eXtension: The information you'll find on eXtension is objective, research-based, and credible.
23. FindLaw: This listing of legal resources makes it easy to find cases, codes, references, and much more.
24. CIA Factbook: The CIA Factbook offers information on world countries and more.
25. Martindale's: The Reference Desk: Find reference material for nearly everything, from medicine to weather.

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