Research Tips, Tricks, and Tools
COMMON SENSE MEDIA EDITION
What is research?
Know your sources! Domains, Websites, & Wikipedia
First - what does the domain of a website tell you about a website?
Let's check out the domain of the sites you have utilized in the past and take a look at how to judge them.
.edu - educational - usually academic - but watch for bias
.org - organization - is an organization - but watch for bias
.com - commercial - commercial or paid for and that can have a specific agenda or purpose
.net - network - commercial, paid for, and often belonging to a specific network
.gov - government - government
.mil - military - us military
Be aware that anyone can register any domains EXCEPT for .mil or .gov. Your best bet is to carefully review all of the material any site presents by putting it through the CRAAP test.
Wikipedia & The CRAAP TEST
What is wrong with using Wikipedia? Let's take a look!
Familiar with CRAAP test? Let's check out how to check out websites.
How to use Wikipedia and How to Know if A Source is Reliable
Google Searches Tips and Tricks
To search for an exact phrase, with the same words in the same order
Place quotation marks (“) around the phrase you’d like to search for Ex: “to be, or not to be”
To exclude results that include a particular word or site when searching words with multiple meanings
Place a dash (-) before the word or site you want to omit Ex: phoenix -arizona
To search for a phrase with missing words
Place an asterisk (*) within the search as a placeholder for any unknown terms Ex: if you give a * a *
To search popular hashtags for trending topics
Place a hashtag in front of the desired topic Ex: #throwbackthursday
To search for results from certain sites and domains
Place “site:” in front of the site or domain from which you want to pull results Ex: apple watch site:digitaltrends.com
To search for pages that link to a certain page
Place “link:” in front of the site or domain you want to find pages linking to Ex: link:digitaltrends.com
To search for sites that are similar to a designated site or domain
Place “related:” in front of the site or domain you want to find similar results of Ex: related:digitaltrends.com
To search for pages that just have one of several words
Place “OR” between the two words you are searching for Ex: world series 2013 OR 2014
To search for designated information about a specific site or domain, including cached pages, and those linking to the site
Place “info:” in front of the site or domain you want information about Ex: info:digitaltrends.com
To search for a specific file type
Place “filetype:” in front of the specific file type you’re looking for Ex: matthew mcconaughey filetype:gif
Databases
We have access to different types of databases that you can utilize for your research.
Works Cited and In-text Citations
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/
Works Cited Page Information
Easybib - Add this extension to Chrome to instantly create citations for your Works Cited page
Purdue Owl - MLA Works Cited Page Information for Electronic Sources
Citation from a Website
"Athlete's Foot - Topic Overview." WebMD, 25 Sept. 2014, www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and- treatments/tc/athletes-foot-topic-overview.
Citation from an Online Database
Alonso, Alvaro, and Julio A. Camargo. "Toxicity of Nitrite to Three Species of Freshwater Invertebrates." Environmental Toxicology, vol. 21, no. 1, 3 Feb. 2006, pp. 90-94. Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1002/tox.20155.
Citing Images for Works Cited Page: Do not forget to cite your images! If you did not take or you do not own the photo or image, you must cite it. See examples below:
Example of Image Citation if photographer's name is available:
Sayer, Larissa. Nurse Log. 27 Jan. 2007. Flickr. Yahoo! Web. 7 Apr.
Example of Image Citation if photographer's name is not available:
Vitamin D. [Digital image]. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.fultonmassagetheraphy.com/the role of vitamin d
Parenthetical (in-text) Citations
When quoting or paraphrasing material or information that you obtained from an outside source, you must give credit to the source in your text.
Purdue Owl - In-text Citing of Electronic Sources format examples and rules
One online film critic stated that Fitzcarraldo "has become notorious for its near-failure and many obstacles" (Taylor, “Fitzcarraldo”).
The Purdue OWL is accessed by millions of users every year. Its "MLA Formatting and Style Guide" is one of the most popular resources (Russell et al.)