Often, shortcomings in a paper can be traced to inadequate amount or quality of reading. It is distressing to read a 15 page report and see that only two sources are referred to over and over again. Your ideas must be adequately supported by reading from a variety of authoritative sources. For details on how to find these sources, see the article on effective library searches. Wherever possible, use original research literature, articles or books in which ideas and data are presented for their first time.
Review articles analyze current knowledge on a certain topic.
These papers are invaluable for the new ideas authors often propose, as well as for their extensive reference lists. Monographs are books devoted to a single subject and are like long review articles, and they should be used in the same way. Of a distinctly lower order of value are textbooks, except for texts in advanced courses, which may actually be monographs. Occasionally, you will not be able to get a reference that you have seen mentioned in another source. Perhaps it is in an obscure journal, in a thesis, or it is in another language.