Expertise
The example topic we're using is "What are some causes of climate change?" That's why, when we look for experts on the topic, we look for people with a particular type of education and job--scientists in a relevant field--who work for a respected institution like a university or a government agency. That will be the case with just about any topic related to science.
But a particular degree or profession is not the only way to be an expert. What you look for when you look for expertise on a topic (as opposed to expertise at reporting fairly and accurately) depends on the topic you're researching.
When it comes to topics related to social studies and current events, you might look for experts who have "lived experience." For example, if your topic was, "Should our state's minimum wage be raised?" experts would include people who earn the current minimum wage. Or if your topic was, "Is Russia committing war crimes in Ukraine?" experts would include people living in Ukraine. In both of these cases, there would also be experts who are professional economists or lawyers who would also have useful information. They just wouldn't be the only experts.
Note that "lived experience" is not the same as "anecdotal evidence." When people use the logical fallacy of anecdotal evidence, they're saying that because one person had a particular experience in a particular circumstance, then everyone in that circumstance will have the same experience. People who can be considered experts because of their lived experience are not claiming everyone will have the same experience they do. Is it always easy to tell the difference? No. That's why it's good to look for additional clues about reliability.
The expertise you look for also depends on why you're doing research. All the examples here are for research you do for school, because a teacher assigned it. That means you'll want to stick to information sources created by people with "official" credentials. If your teacher asks you why you used a particular information source, you'll have the receipts.
All the clues you'll see here still apply to other types of research, but you might expand what you accept as expertise. For example, if you're researching whether you should buy a particular game, experts would include people who have tried the game.
There's another type of research that doesn't really need any experts: when you're looking up something that's considered "common knowledge." These are things that are:
Usually short, simple facts
Easily verifiable
Not up for debate
Examples of common knowledge topics include "When is Selena Gomez's birthday?" and "Where do penguins live?" (Even Adventurer Lad, with his 20 subscribers, probably got that right.)
