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1. It is okay to start your research with Google, but it should often not end there. Researchers can move between free and subscription sources. You might use free resources to get broad background information on your topic and then move to subscription resources for more targeted searching. Some good free resources include Cornell's Legal Information Institute, Google Scholar, and the National Conference of State Legislatures website. Our Research Guides can help you identify potentially relevant resources.
2. Online resources are no more authoritative than the organization that produces them. In other words, official government agency websites hold more weight than, say, some guy's blog.
3. You should always check, and cite, the underlying source to the extent that it is reasonably possible. For example, if you are working on an academic paper and you find a blog post that cites to a study, you should try to obtain and review a copy of the underlying study and evaluate it yourself. It very well may make sense to cite both sources in your work.
4. Remember to use advanced search screens and help functions in online resources, especially if you are working with resources that you do not use often.