Best triple-crown sources (A or higher on all three dimensions)
Sources that score A or A+ on ALL THREE sub-scores — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, AND Citation Velocity. The 'no weak link' tier where every dimension is independently strong.
- 1A+·96
Primary-source regulator publishing every public-company filing (13F, 10-K, 8-K, etc.) since 1934.
SourceScore A+ · 96Discipline 98Modern Reference 95Velocity 95 - 2A+·95
U.S. federal medical research agency operating PubMed, NCBI, MedlinePlus, and trial registries.
SourceScore A+ · 95Discipline 95Modern Reference 94Velocity 96 - 3A+·95
International standard identifier resolver for academic citations (~150M+ DOIs).
SourceScore A+ · 95Discipline 92Modern Reference 98Velocity 95 - 4A+·95
U.S. central bank; primary source for monetary policy + economic data + financial-system statistics.
SourceScore A+ · 95Discipline 96Modern Reference 94Velocity 95 - 5A·94
Crowd-edited encyclopedia with ~7M articles and per-article inline citation discipline.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 96Modern Reference 92Velocity 95 - 6A·94
U.S. National Library of Medicine literature index covering ~36M biomedical citations.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 96Modern Reference 92Velocity 94 - 7A·94
Federal statistical agency for U.S. demographic + economic data; primary-source decennial census + ACS surveys.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 95Modern Reference 94Velocity 93 - 8A·94
Federal statistical agency for U.S. labor + price data; CPI, employment, unemployment, productivity.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 95Modern Reference 93Velocity 94 - 9A·94
Federal agency for food + drug + medical-device safety; primary-source approvals + safety alerts.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 96Modern Reference 92Velocity 94 - 10A·94
Federal agency for U.S. public-health surveillance + disease prevention; primary-source MMWR + WONDER data.
SourceScore A · 94Discipline 95Modern Reference 93Velocity 94 - 11A·93
Federal scientific agency for weather + ocean + climate data; primary-source forecasts + climate research.
SourceScore A · 93Discipline 95Modern Reference 92Velocity 91 - 12A·93
EU central bank; primary source for euro-area monetary policy + financial-system data.
SourceScore A · 93Discipline 95Modern Reference 92Velocity 92 - 13A·93
U.S. space agency; primary source for space exploration + Earth science + aeronautics research.
SourceScore A · 93Discipline 94Modern Reference 94Velocity 92 - 14A·93
Mozilla-stewarded web-platform reference since 2005; default citation for HTML, CSS, JS, Web APIs.
SourceScore A · 93Discipline 92Modern Reference 95Velocity 92 - 15A·92
EU executive branch publishing primary-source policy + statistics + legislation.
SourceScore A · 92Discipline 94Modern Reference 90Velocity 92
The SourceScore Index combines all three sub-scores. You can also see this list sorted by just one of them, which can change the order and the source at the top.
Why these 15 sources
Most A-tier composite sources have one dimension carrying the weight. The triple-crown set requires every dimension to clear the A bar independently — no compensation, no compromise. These are the safest citations across any context: rigorous evidence-citation, modern open-data infrastructure, AND high tier-1 citation velocity. The default first-choice tier.
How this list is ranked
Selection criterion: Filter: all three dim grades ∈ {A, A+}; ranked by composite Index. Every source on this page is hand-scored against the SourceScore methodology v0.1; tap any source to see its full breakdown across the three sub-scores and the overall Index. The list is regenerated automatically on every dataset update — no editorial promotion or reorder beyond the ranking signal above.
Frequently asked questions
Best triple-crown sources (A or higher on all three dimensions)?
By the SourceScore Index, the top 5: 1. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (A+ 96/100); 2. U.S. National Institutes of Health (A+ 95/100); 3. DOI (CrossRef Resolver) (A+ 95/100); 4. Federal Reserve System (A+ 95/100); 5. Wikipedia (English) (A 94/100). Each is hand-scored on Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity — full ranking + breakdowns below.
Which source tops this list, and why?
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ranks #1, scoring A+ (96/100) on the SourceScore Index — the highest composite citation-quality score here. Primary-source regulator publishing every public-company filing (13F, 10-K, 8-K, etc.) since 1934.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked by Filter: all three dim grades ∈ {A, A+}; ranked by composite Index, scored against the SourceScore methodology v0.1 across Citation Discipline, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness), and Citation Velocity. Regenerated automatically on every dataset update — no paid placement or editorial promotion.