How do you perform research on the Internet?
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M$15 Answers
Google has a good document on how to use their advanced search features. It is very useful, and can be found here:
http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?answer=136861
Tip 2: Use Wikipedia, but use it well.
Most educational institutions don't see Wikipedia as a valid scholarly source, and they're right. However, Wikipedia can be a great starting point for a subject. Most Wikipedia articles have their sources listed at the bottom. Browse through the main article for some ideas, but make sure you check the sources to see if they're factual.
Tip 3: Always get a second opinion.
The Internet is a great place to find information quickly, but many people are too quick to trust the first site they visit. Always cross-reference your information with another site to make sure that it is accurate.
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M$
1. Search using whichever search engine(s) you're comfortable with. For me that's mostly Google.
2. Review multiple results to find ones that are reputable, or if no well-known reputable ones are obvious, try to concentrate on ones which are scholarly (having a .edu ending is best, .org may be ok as long as you're sure the site does not have an editorial slant).
3. Read your sources carefully, trying to gauge if the author of the source is knowledgeable and objective.
4. Read comments if any are available (usually at the bottom of the page). Sometimes commenters will show you what the author may have missed (either intentionally or not). I recently read a comment on a blog cited by a Mahalo member that pointed out the national debt numbers used in a blog entry were not corrected for inflation. Once you applied that correction, the answer as to when the last year we had a balanced budget changed from 1957 to 2001. That is a significant change which would be missed if you failed to fully read the entire entry as well as all the comments.
5. Follow citations in your source (especially if it's user-generated like Wikipedia) to verify what is provided in the source, and to get closer to the original material.
6. When composing an answer, follow the best practices of how-to-get-a-best-answer-on-mahalo, and especially mahalo-copying-and-pasting-guidelines to make sure your answer is not plagiarized, and reflects the work you put into your research. If providing quoted information, make sure to add your own words in assessing the quoted source, analyzing the information, synthesizing with material from other sources, contrasting with other sources, etc. Also, try to provide the answer itself in what you write rather than simply sending the asker off-site to another web address for the answer.
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M$
I agree with @dfm that wikipedia is a good place to start, and there are other open-edited sites that are useful but none should ever be listed as a resource for your articles.
Use the most legitimate resources you can find per your topic. For instance, if I'm going to write about a health issue or medical treatment, I stay away from consumer-oriented sites trying to sell health products, and use the AMA or CDC websites, or other legitimate medical resources.
Remember that as a writer you'll only be as reputable as the resources you use!
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M$
When I do research, Wikipedia is only good for getting an outline of what you want to find.
I use educational sites, government sites, and reputable news sources most of the time. If you read the most well-respected blogs, this is where they get their information.
When I'm writing an article on a particular subject, I like to quote at least two reputable sources. This gives you more credibility.
Of course, there is some information you simply can't find online. If the article is important enough, find the source citation information online, and see if you can get the source publication through your local libary.
For pictures, avoid Google Images, because most of those images are copyrighted. Also avoid creativecommons.org, because it says right on the site that not all of their pictures are free for public use. I use sxc.hu, wikimedia commons, and Flickr (be careful only to use the free photos there), and am careful to follow the copyright use directions carefully.
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M$
http://www.wikipedia.org (and its sources)
For foreign languages, I have a big set of bookmarked dictionaries that I've compiled over the years.
It's difficult to explain to people how my "sifting" works. I'm just so used to browsing the internet and knowing which links look like they won't have the information I need (or don't look reputible). Often I find that the first couple of links are looking for my query too literally, and it's only about a third of the way down the page does Google start exploring other word combinations and branching out to sites I'm actually looking for. But this isn't the case 100% of the time, so... honestly not sure how else to explain. ;)
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M$
If I am searching for statistical data, my next stop is Wolfram Alpha. If I find the data I'm looking for, I verify their source.
If I'm looking for research for government research or reported data, I do another Google search and specify site:*.gov.
If I'm trying to find something fairly unique, I may search the general subject at Kosmix and explore the results posted in the Related in the Kosmos section in the right sidebar.
I subscribe to lots of blogs and newsletters on the subjects I'm interested in. If I recall a recent article, I also search my subscriptions in my google.com/reader folders.
I may also search Twitter for any hash tags related to the topic.
I read this book a few months back and I'm sure I only remember a fraction of what I learned. Worthy of a review by all who do research on-line:
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$Generally, I try to use as few search terms as possible, at first. Then I try to narrow the number of results down if I need to by adding more search terms.
I often use quotes to surround essential phrases, which tells the search engine to look for the entire phrase and not just parts. This is especially with useful for anything you're looking up that might send you a lot of porn otherwise (anything with teen or hot in it, for example).
I also use the + or - sign. Let's say if I were looking up Beowulf, the epic poem. I don't want results for the movie. I might look up Beowulf -movie, so that no results will come up with the film or copious articles on Angelina Jolie.
I may use boolean logic (AND, OR, NOT), though I don't usually need to.
You can pretty much avoid using + and - and Boolean logic in google by going to the advanced search page (http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en) , which has a conveniently direct link on the regular google page as well . It has options for exact wording, words you don't want to find, alternate words you would want to find (OR in boolean logic), etc. It also has little tip links on the side if you need them.
I will put essential phrases in quotes
I try to look at more than one page if possible, and I usually go beyond the first page of google results. Google lists results in terms of popularity, but unfortunately, popularity doesn't always equal accuracy or even relevance.
If it's an academic question, I may click the advanced search link and put .edu or .org in the "Search within a site or domain" field, so I can get a generally higher quality list of results.
Beyond Google:
I chase rabbits. If I find a page that has great information and directs me to another page, I go there. If I find a term that seems like it would help me better find information I need, I use it. These two tips are especially useful if you find yourself looking in discussion board posts.
When I find a site, I usually ask myself a few question, like: Who wrote it? Is it full of ads or not? is it trying to sell me something? Is it way off from the information I've already found? Is it otherwise biased?
If I'm using the site for academic research, I also want to see if the page cites its sources, preferably in a standard format like MLA or APA.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Mine is an odd niche. So, very frequently, I suddenly have an unfamiliar animal (rescue) and, I gotta tell ya, I hit "Ask." As an example, "What do Alligator Lizards eat?" I so believe in the power of this search, that I preface all of my critter pages, in the "food" section with, "What do (subject of my my page) eat?"
Next up is Google, for almost everything else. I can then refine Images or Text, or whatever I seek.
However, if I'm searching for a video, I always go YouTube directly and place my search there. Why? Lots of content, and no danger of non-link capabilities or loss of the video itself should I choose to use another resource and it vanishes.
I think it's a drag that Wiki and its associated answer pages appear to be unreliable, and not a viable source for information - certainly not citations!
I used to use Dogpile, Yahoo, etc., but Google dusts them all. Hope this is helpful!
www.ask.com
www.google.com
www.YouTube.com
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M$
Usually I will search Mahalo, and ask a question on Mahalo answers. If you offer a big tip you can get some really great answers.
Other than that I don't have anything other people haven't said: Wikipedia, Google.
One thing I do use alot is google searches using the "-" option. I will search for a term, then remove results using the - until I get what I'm looking for
Example: Lets say I'm looking for money on google adwords. Well if you search for google adwords, you get a ton of spam - make money with adwords kind of program.
But searching for the following term: "adwords -program -secrets" returns some great info since many of the get rich quick schemes are selling a "program" or offering their "secret"s.
This usually takes many attempts - slowly refining the search, removing additional terms until you can cut through the junk to get the info you're looking for.
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M$
1. First, I do a simple google search by taking only the keyword from the question. For example, for this question, I start my research by searching for 'internet research'.
2. If I can't find the answer, I will add additional keyword. For this question, an additional keyword like 'guide' may give the best resources. If you use the correct keyword, you can find the answer easily.
3. To find definition or explanation of a new term or technology, I do the following. For example to learn about , first I do a research for 'define 3d printing' or 'what is 3d printing' without any quotes. If I can't find the answer, I do the following researches within quotes: "3d printing is a " or "3d printer is a" or "3d printers are". The second research often gives me good results.
4. Moving from one website to other. This is most important to find answers which can not be easily found. I generally start from any website, gather keywords and repeat the search with those additional keywords. I will continue the process until I got the answer.
5. I use site search to find information from specific website where I think I can get reliable information about the topic.
6. Wise use of double quotes(" ") plus (+) and minus (-) will also help.
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M$www.2imart.com
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M$
I always say, Wikipedia is a great place to start your research, but never where you would want to end it.
On average, I find Wikipedia just as good, or even better and more up to date as any encyclopedia. Why trust Britannica, and not Wikipedia? Both have erroneous information every now and then, both are written by human beings.
Actually, on many subjects I trust Wikipedia more than Britannica, and I truly don't understand why so many toss it aside as not a valid scholarly source. It is probably THE best source of information in the world. Not perfect, but still the best.