Search engine smarts for academic research
Search engine smarts for academic research
October 29, 2012
How do you find information online? If you’re looking for something in particular, typically you would type key words into a search engine and see what comes up. However, when in school, you’ll often be asked to do online research to support your academic writing. This can be tricky, especially if you haven’t searched online for academic sources before.
When using a search engine, always consider the integrity of your source. To publish something in a book, the author has to go through fact-checking with their editor and publisher. To publish something on the Internet, you don’t have to fact-check with anyone! Any person can publish information on the Internet, so it’s important to know that the information you’re using is accurate.
When it comes to checking facts, be wary of online encyclopaedias. Many online encyclopaedias are “crowd-sourced,” meaning that anyone on the Internet can contribute to the Web pages. Who knows if the information they’re giving is accurate? You shouldn’t risk using these resources for school. So, if these options pop up first when searching, consider looking for a different, more credible source.
I recommend using .edu or .gov Web sites, instead of.ca or .com Web sites. These education-based and government Web sites maintain their integrity by providing accurate information, and are good choices for academic research. You can turn on this preference in the advanced search function of many popular search engines. Just go into the “Advanced settings” section and you can filter the “Site/domain” search by only searching for .edu or .gov Web sites.
Academic research takes time. You will learn which Web sites you can trust, which ones can be used for academic referencing, and which ones to avoid. Doing effective research will help you do well in school, so make sure you know how to do it right!