Taking the Time to Find the Right Source
Simple Google searches just aren’t enough.
During most of my academic career, my research process was to:
- Open up google.com
- Search for a simple phrase generally relating to research topic
- Pick a source from the first page of results, likely from near the top of the page
If I couldn’t find a useable source this way, I would return to step 2, enter a slightly different search term, and proceed to step 3. Usually these two steps were repeated multiple times throughout my research in order to find various, somewhat relevant sources on a topic. Unless I was specifically required to use a library database (which wasn’t very likely) or a physical book (which was even less likely), this was my preferred method of conducting research because it seemed like it was the quickest and easiest way of finding a source, and I didn’t think that the quality or purpose of information on the websites I found was any different than that of the information contained in books and journal articles found in library databases.
During the last few months, I have taken a course at Wake Forest University called “Accessing Information in the 21st Century,” which has made me realize that my research methods were not nearly as efficient as they could have been. I have learned many skills throughout this course that have shown me how easily I can improve my Google search results, and how I can use library databases to find different types of sources that are useful for different types of research.
One of the simplest methods of improving my search for sources that I learned about is using advanced search functions in Google and library databases. By using these functions, I can narrow down my Google searches in many different ways, such as only searching for specific file-types (such as PDFs or Word documents) or domains (such as .edu, .gov, or .org). In library databases, advanced search functions allow me to narrow search results down to specific types of sources (such as magazines, newspapers, journal articles, physical books, eBooks, or images). They also allow me to limit the search results by categories such as languages and time periods. Another very important feature that Google and many library databases have is the ability to search using Boolean Operators. These operators are simple words (AND, OR, NOT) that make it very easy to make sure that my search results include or exclude certain keywords or topics. These different search functions have been very easy to learn about, and have greatly improved my ability to fine-tune my search results and find the proper types of sources for a different research requirements.
I previously preferred simple Google searches because I thought they were the fastest way to find useable information, but I have learned through this course that the information that I can find using advanced search features and library databases is often much more credible and relevant to my academic research. While it may take a bit longer to find sources using these advanced research methods, what I have taken away from them is that taking the time to find the right sources actually makes it quicker and easier to complete my assignments in the long run. These sources tend to be more reliable and useable than the types that I used to find in the past. They prevent me from having to conduct tons of new searches to find and look through a lot of sources that are much less relevant to my research, and trying to make them work for my assignments. I think that these advanced search functions, as well as the skills that I have developed in evaluating and recognizing different types of sources, are the parts of this course that will most significantly impact my research habits and academic success in the future.
