“What’s wrong with looking for sources that back up what I want to say?” When you start researching a topic, keep an open mind: investigate every important source, even if you think you won’t agree with it. If all your sources take the same position you take, you may be doing some pretty selective searching—and you may be missing a big part of the picture. Who knows? You may change your position after learning more about the topic. Even if you don’t, ignoring counterarguments and other points of view harms your credibility, suggesting that you haven’t done your homework.