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Miley Library Massey: Websites

General library guidelines and resources available at the Miley Library on IRSC's Ft. Pierce campus.

Can you use the Web for your research?

First, check with your instructor!

If you are planning to "google" the Web for your research, any sources that you find should be authenticated. The sites you locate might contain deceptive, biased, or incorrect information. It will be your job to determine which information meets the rigors of academic research. For this reason instructors and librarians often encourage you to use only the library's Web resources, where much of the authentication has already been done for you.

What about Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopaedia containing millions of articles. Anyone can write and edit the articles. It's a great place to start looking for information, but it's usually not acceptable as an information source for academic work.

Ask your instructor if Wikipedia is appropriate for your assignment!

EVALUATE! EVALUATE!

You may have grown up with the Internet and feel very confident using Google or Wikipedia. But, do you really know how to conduct academic research on the Web?

You can find some great information out there, but using the Web for academic research requires diligent evaluation.

      

Can I use this website for academic research?

Questions to ask:

  • What does the URL tell you? Is it .com, .edu, .gov, etc.? This is your first clue about the publisher.
  • Who is the author, publisher, and/or sponsor? Is the author an expert or scholar on that topic--or someone simply putting forth an opinion? Is the sponsor reputable? Is the publication a journal or magazine? Be willing to find out!
  • Are the issues or opinions presented supported by evidence? Or, is the information heavily biased?  Bias may be okay as long as you are aware of it.
  • Does this web document list any references or provide links to other reputable websites? These links allow you to do further research on your own, or to independently verify information.
  • When was the site last updated? Is there a date on the document you are evaluating? A credible web page should provide this information.

Scholarly versus Popular

Scholarly articles are:

in-depth |  written by experts |   validated with technical language, abstracts, literature reviews, methodologies, tables, graphs, and conclusions |  reviewed by experts | given a bibliography

Popular articles are:

brief overviews of topics |  written by journalists |  easily read by most people |  illustrated with colorful photographs or pictures |  reviewed by editors | not given a bibliography