Scholarly journals generally have a thorough review process prior to publication. Recommended changes generally must be made before the journal will agree to publish the article, helping to ensure the quality of the final product. Trade and popular journals typically have a much less stringent review process. Usually, articles must be approved by a managing editor but do not have to go through an outside review. Particularly with publications that come out daily or weekly, fact checking may take a back seat to getting the scoop on a breaking story.
Internet sites can be even more of a free for all.
Virtually anybody can post a web site, and it can be difficult at first to tell the bad ones from the good ones. As a general rule .edu and .gov sites are often the most reliable with regards to their information content but even this can vary widely. Compilations of carefully selected Internet resources, including one for Psychology, are also available via the Subjects Resources and Contacts page. There are many different conventions for citing resources though most contain the same basic elements. A selected list of style guide links is available from the library electronic reference shelf .