After you have chosen a topic for your speech, you will then start to gather information about it. Your professors will want you to use authoritative and credible voices and information in your speeches. But what does this mean? And where do you even start?
Authority is constructed and contextual, which just means that an authority on one topic may not be the best authority to seek information from on another topic. For example, just think about the different courses you are taking and who teaches them. Would you consider your communications professor to be an authority in biology? Or your nursing professor to be an authority in computer programming? No, probably not.
When you start your research, think about who or what may have the best possible information on your topic. Many times, Google may be an appropriate choice to start your research because it provides scholarly, popular, and trade or technical information.