Research on the Internet: Tips for High School and College Students and Beyond

The advent of the internet has brought about a revolution in the way people find and research the information they need. In many ways this has come as a great benefit to society, from finding recipes to mapping out trips, from staying on top of the news to finding long lost friends - information is available today like never before. With such easy access to information, it only seems natural that writing a research paper or doing a project for a class would be immensely easier than at any time in the past. For those who truly know how to utilize the internet for research this is exactly the case; for everyone else there is a whole new world of questionable facts, downright lies, and opportunities for plagiarism. In this guide, you will learn some simple tips and strategies for taking full advantage of the internet in you research while still maintaining the level of credibility and dedication teachers and professors loves to see.

As a student myself, I've always been careful to utilize only information I know I can trust, but I've seen plenty of my fellow students make countless mistakes in researching online - from my own observations and experience, I've boiled it down to a few simple guidelines.

First and foremost, a search engine is not a research tool and should never be cited as such. While sites like Google and Yahoo can be immensely helpful in finding information, you cannot take the first result on the faith that it is correct. Although search engines use advanced technologies in an attempt to provide the most relevant information, it is not very difficult for a group of people on the internet to heavily bias results with deceptive linking and other techniques. In addition to simply finding results for your search, many search engines show sponsored links or ads along with the results - these are clearly marked on all major and reputable search engines, and should generally be avoided unless you otherwise trust the organization hosting the site being advertised.

As an easy alternative to a general web search engine, you may find it helpful to try a specialized search engine or web directory tailored to your topic of interest. These sites are available all over the internet and you should be able to find them for nearly every topic. There are spammers that set up web directories as well, so you should be careful when trying one you are not familiar with and, when possible, stick to a directory or specialized search engine created by an organization or person you know of and trust.

Trust, truth, and accuracy are essential when using the internet to research anything important, and knowing how to determine if a site is legitimate is an essential skill for anyone hoping to utilize the internet for schoolwork. Finding trustworthy sites on the internet can seem to be a daunting task, but with some simple guidelines and a little patience, it can become as natural as chatting with your friends.

Avoid personal sites and those hosted by free web hosts unless you are absolutely certain the author of the site is someone to be trusted. It is very easy for someone to set up a website and portray their inaccurate or downright false information as true. Even if this information is true, it may well be out of date, of poor quality, or even plagiarized. It is also possible for someone to portray themselves as an expert in a field when they actually have limited or no experience. Even if someone knows that they are writing about, it is quite possible that a personal site may contain opinions and biases not found in a more professional setting. With this in mind, the best advice is simply to avoid personal sites whenever possible. If you must use information from a personal site, look into the author and make sure that he or she is really an expert in the field and someone to be trusted.

Sites hosted by educational institutions are generally good sources on information, but be sure to verify that the page you are using in your research is actually condoned by the institution. Most colleges and universities provide web space for their students and student organizations, and it may be possible to stumble onto one of these sites by mistake, leading to the same problems faced with personal pages. The best bet in this situation is to focus on departmental or faculty pages with scholarly content that is clearly sponsored by the host institution. Again, it never hurts to look over the author's background and qualifications.

Sites hosted by government agencies are among the most trustworthy and accurate sources available, particularly when it comes to laws and information government actions or policies, as well as the topics which a given agency was designed to handle, making these very excellent sources. The only issue with these sites is that they can sometimes be a pain to navigate and may contain out of date information in addition to the newer version.

Professional organizations provide another source of what is usually very trustworthy information, as do non-profit groups that specialize in a given field. It should be noted, however, that many of these groups may also engage in various advocacy, lobbying, and fundraising activities which may lead to information that is less than factual. It is wise to double check the facts provided on these websites, especially if they seem to defy logic or commonsense, to ensure that they have not stretched the truth or simply written the site with strong biases in mind.

If you are looking for specific information on a product, service, or company, a corporate website can prove to be very helpful. However, you must be exceedingly careful as most of these sites are designed to sell a specific product or service and, as a result, it is again possible for this information to be heavily biased. As with professional organizations and non-profits, double check anything that seems 'too good to be true.'

If you want a more traditional research experience that combines accuracy with the ease of the internet, online encyclopedias, journals, and databases provide a great resource full of information - which are more up-to-date than there print counterparts. Perhaps the best option for research online comes in the form of subscription journals and databases. These resources are often fairly expensive, but nearly all colleges and universities, most public libraries, and many public and private schools now subscribe to a variety of databases on a huge array of topics. With subscription sites like these, you can find just about anything you need from hundred year old newspaper articles to the latest scientific and medical research, all at your fingertips. For information on specific databases, you should contact your library or school and see what is available.

The world of online encyclopedias has evolved a great deal in recent years and the greatest factor in this evolution has been the skyrocketing popularity of Wikipedia. In this day and age, Wikipedia provides simple and concise access to information on just about any topic you can think of. Recent studies by independent organizations have shown that Wikipedia is just as accurate as or even more accurate than many print and online encyclopedias, including even the renowned Encyclopedia Britannica, in many areas. While this accuracy should be encouraging, the fact that anyone can edit - and vandalize - Wikipedia articles as they see fit, means that you always run the risk of getting a version of the article with inaccurate information. And as always, double check any facts or information that just don't see right. This is the case both with Wikipedia and any site edited by users as opposed to experts.

The best advice for using Wikipedia is to check back a revision or two to ensure that the information you are using was not vandalized and not yet restored to its original form. Wikipedia is especially nice in that most articles contain extensive citations linked to specific sections of the article. Because of this, many people find it helpful to use Wikipedia as a starting point for deeper research, examining the sources used in the article for more detailed information. While this technique can be helpful, always be careful to cite what you use; if you take the information straight from Wikipedia be sure to cite Wikipedia, not the source they cited.

And of course, there is another option you should always remember - a good old trip to the library. Sure, there's a lot of information available on the internet, but sometimes there are things you just can't find online. Besides this, sitting down with a good book can be far more relaxing and productive than scouring the internet. While the internet can be a great research tool, books continue to be important and interesting sources for all nearly all information.

At this point, my specific tips for becoming an effective internet researcher have come to an end, but I'd like to make two important points regarding research in general - perhaps two of the most important tips in this entire article.

First, plagiarism is illegal, immoral, and very dangerous. Despite the fact that you may well have gotten away with only a warning for downloading an essay in middle school, you will find that high school, college, and the 'real' world simply don't work that way. Depending on the institution, high schools will often give failing grades for plagiarized papers and perhaps even for the class in which you plagiarized. Even worse, colleges usually expel students for plagiarism, often on the first offense. In the 'real' world, it is quite possible that you will be fired or even sued for plagiarism. Regardless of the circumstances, no matter how tempting it is, plagiarism is almost always far worse than the consequences of not doing an assignment or doing poorly on it. Just because you got away with it once doesn't mean you'll get away with it again.

Second, be sure to properly cite all sources used and only sources used. Various teachers and professors will have varying policies, but in general lying in a bibliography or list of works cited is considered plagiarism and treated in an identical or very similar manner. Due diligence when researching and writing your papers can save you a lot of trouble and regret once you turn your paper in.

It is my sincere hope that these simple tips have made you a more efficient and accurate user of the internet for your research papers and projects. The internet is a great resource that has transformed education the world over, but it is only a tool. Use the internet responsibly for your research and you'll thank yourself later.