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5 Ways to Make Online Research Easier

5 Ways to Make Online Research Easier





    Many schools block access to online images or entire websites that may be valuable to your research. So plan on spending some or most of your online research time at home, your local municipal library, or anywhere else you have online access.
  2. Sort fact from fiction. Before you begin your research, make a list of the kinds of sites that are best for your topic. Government sites ending in .gov and educational sites ending in .edu are usually safe bets. Established news-related sites are OK, too, but be sure that you're using the original source. If a newspaper article mentions another source, like an organization or website, go directly to that source to find the information.

    Sites ending in .org are usually nonprofit organizations. They can be good resources, but it's always best to check with your teacher to make sure he or she considers the site appropriate. Wikipedia is popular and ranks high in search results, but it can be edited by anyone, whether a person has accurate knowledge of the topic or not. At most schools, using Wikipedia as a source is not a good way to build credibility in your report.

    On commercial websites ending in .com, check to see if the site has advertising. If it does, it may be biased. Blogs, personal websites, and social media sites (like YouTube, Digg, Tumblr, Pinterest, or Facebook) are personal sources and can be biased as well.
  3. Search smart. Start with an established search engine, like Google or Bing. Although search engines often do a good job of guessing what you need, you can use specific search methods to narrow down your results. If you haven't learned about things like Boolean searches in school, ask your teacher or librarian for guidance.

  4. Stay focused. When you're ready to check out websites or go to search engines such as Google, log off your chat, Facebook, and email (and turn off your phone!). That way, you're not tempted to get lost in the surf. Just a few clicks can take you far from your topic.

    If you need to take a break from your research, make a note of where you are before you walk away from your computer. Taking a 10-minute break from the computer every hour works well for most people. Use the time to move around and stretch a bit.


Reviewed by: Eric J. Gabor, Esq.
Date reviewed: May 2012