Research: Home

Currency

Reliability

Accuracy

Purpose

Using Google Search for your Research

Factors to Consider:

• Key words/related words/synonyms
• Number of search results
• Combination of resource types
• Inconsistency of quality, credibility and authority
• Scholarly works might require payment for a full text version

Please note that students completing the same Google Search may not get the same results page because Google takes account of a person's search history.  

Research cycle. (2019). Retrieved from http://brescia.uwo.ca/library/research/research-cycle/

          The Research Cycle 

1. Plan how you will tackle the research.
2. Identify possible resources to use such as: journal articles, books, newspaper articles, or websites.
3. Locate resources in the library and online.
4. Evaluate the resources you have found critically.
5. Document the details of the resources you use.

A database is an organized, data storage repository that can be easily managed and retrieved.  The databases that are available via the library homepage are not freely available on the internet, which is why the library pays an annual subscription that provides authenticated access to our school community. 

The information available from a library database is selective, age appropriate, peer reviewed and generally not freely available via the internet.  Databases provide information that is high quality, credible and authoritative.  They can be general knowledge databases such as World Book                                            

                                                               OR be subject specific such as JSTOR                          

Click on the image to create your citations, reference list and bibliographies. 

Search Social Media

Put @ in front of a word to search social media.  For example: @twitter

Search for a Price

Put $ in front of a number.  For example: camera  $400

Search Hashtags

Put # in front of a word.  For example:  #throwbackthursday

Exclude words from your search

Put - in front of the word you want to leave out.  For example: jaguar speed  -car

Search for an Exact Match

Put a word or phrase inside quotation marks.  For example: "tallest building"

Search for Wildcards or unknown words

Put a * in your word or phrase where you want to leave a placeholder.  For example: "largest * in the world"

Search within a range of numbers

Put . . between two numbers.  For Example:  camera  $50 . .  $100

Combine Searches

Put "OR" between each query.  For example: marathon  OR   race

Search for Related Sites

Put "related:" in front of a web address you already know.  For example: related: time.com

Get Details about a Site

Put "info:" in front of the site address.  For example: info:  nationalgeographic.com

See Google's cached version of a site

Put "cache:" in front of the site address.  For example:  cache:  wwf.org.au

Source: Google Search Help . Common Search Techniques & Refining Web Searches

Main Points to Remember:

• Research is combining what you know and think with what others have to say and then filtering all that information into an answer to your question
• Research is a journey to find people, or sources, who have information that can answer your questions
• Sources shape what you think
• Sources have an agenda
• Consult multiple sources
• A research paper is a map of all the sources you consulted to develop an answer to your question

Have you had trouble taking notes from books or handouts you need to read? Watch this video for tips on effective note-taking.

To narrow your search, you might want to limit the domains you search in. These are the most common:

•  .com (generic, top-level domain)
•  .edu (educational institutions)
•  .gov (government agencies or entities)
•  .org (top-level domain, usually non-profit organizations and individuals)
•  .int (international organizations)
• .net (network infrastructure machines and organizations)
• .biz (usually intended for businesses)
• .info (unrestricted domain)