Research How to do Internet Research
The internet is an amazing tool for academics because all of the knowledge is right at your fingertips. There are online encyclopedias and articles for almost any subject. HOWEVER, you need to be careful about what you’re reading. Because the internet is so accessible, anybody can post anything they want, regardless of their qualifications. You need to be able to distinguish between what is good, solid information and what is just someone’s opinion.
Wikipedia is one of the best sources online for getting information on any topic. Everybody uses Wikipedia and it is always a great place to start your research. HOWEVER, remember that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and is not a legitimate source to cite in papers.
Here’s how to effectively use Wikipedia. Read the article on your subject and whatever related articles you would like. Write down the key terms that you encounter and then put them into Google to find other sources that talk about them. Also, Wikipedia has citations for their articles; feel free to explore these to learn more about your subject.
Rule of thumb, something ending in .org, .edu, .net will generally have usable information. Stay away from blog spots where people report their own opinion/the information as they see it. Even if their information sounds good, you can’t trust that what their saying is accurate. However, lots of universities host sites that are full of good information that you can cite.
An amazing source of scholarly articles and books, Google Scholar is a great tool, especially for detailed research papers. Just like Google, you enter your search into the homepage and various articles and books will come up with results. You won’t always be able to access the articles because they are part of a database you need to pay to use, but you will come up with a bunch of results you can use. Also, just like Wikipedia, you can click on “related articles” and another list of search results will pop up that are related to the original work you chose.
Note, Google Scholar will often link you to Google Books. Google books are books that have been scanned and are now available online. This allows you to view actual books free of charge. You can also search within the Google book to go directly to the pages that you need. Be aware, these books have a limit on the amount of pages that you can see due to copy right issues. So, don’t just scroll aimlessly through the pages; search for what you need. Also know that this means certain pages are not available to view period, so some information may be missing. If you find a book that you like and want to view all of it, search for it in the San Diego Library System and find a branch where you can check it out.
The internet is an amazing tool for academics because all of the knowledge is right at your fingertips. There are online encyclopedias and articles for almost any subject. HOWEVER, you need to be careful about what you’re reading. Because the internet is so accessible, anybody can post anything they want, regardless of their qualifications. You need to be able to distinguish between what is good, solid information and what is just someone’s opinion.
Wikipedia is one of the best sources online for getting information on any topic. Everybody uses Wikipedia and it is always a great place to start your research. HOWEVER, remember that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone and is not a legitimate source to cite in papers.
Here’s how to effectively use Wikipedia. Read the article on your subject and whatever related articles you would like. Write down the key terms that you encounter and then put them into Google to find other sources that talk about them. Also, Wikipedia has citations for their articles; feel free to explore these to learn more about your subject.
Rule of thumb, something ending in .org, .edu, .net will generally have usable information. Stay away from blog spots where people report their own opinion/the information as they see it. Even if their information sounds good, you can’t trust that what their saying is accurate. However, lots of universities host sites that are full of good information that you can cite.
An amazing source of scholarly articles and books, Google Scholar is a great tool, especially for detailed research papers. Just like Google, you enter your search into the homepage and various articles and books will come up with results. You won’t always be able to access the articles because they are part of a database you need to pay to use, but you will come up with a bunch of results you can use. Also, just like Wikipedia, you can click on “related articles” and another list of search results will pop up that are related to the original work you chose.
Note, Google Scholar will often link you to Google Books. Google books are books that have been scanned and are now available online. This allows you to view actual books free of charge. You can also search within the Google book to go directly to the pages that you need. Be aware, these books have a limit on the amount of pages that you can see due to copy right issues. So, don’t just scroll aimlessly through the pages; search for what you need. Also know that this means certain pages are not available to view period, so some information may be missing. If you find a book that you like and want to view all of it, search for it in the San Diego Library System and find a branch where you can check it out.