Research: Tips and Tricks from Ms. Goetz
RESEARCHING
Research is the action of looking for information in order to learn, understand, explore, and create
new ideas.
Sources are different places where we can get information. Sources can be books, encyclopedias,
pictures, objects, websites, web documents, videos, or personal interviews.
However, you need to make sure that you get your information from reliable sources.
A reliable source is a source that has trustworthy information and is considered an authority in what you
are researching. For example, a brain surgeon would be an authority if you are researching brain
surgery or an academic paper from the “American Journal of Political Science” would be a trustworthy
source if you are researching politics.
Reliable Sources
Encyclopedias
Academic Papers
.edu websites
.gov or .mil websites
.org websites
Non-Fiction Books in the Library!
NOT Reliable sources
Wikipedia
Blogs
Answer websites (Ask.com, AskJeeves, YahooAnswers)
Fiction Books
Always remember to evaluate your source before you use it! Is it a professional publication? Is it a
trustworthy and authoritative source? Guidelines on how to evaluate can be found here:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/553/01/ on OWL@Purdue’s website.
AVOIDING PLAGIARISM BY CITING YOUR SOURCES
Plagiarism is using information, ideas, pictures, or quotations from a source without giving credit to
where it came from. If you use ANYTHING from a source you must cite it in your Bibliography or Works
Cited page.
Use the following citation makers to help you cite your sources easily:
For your extended essay use NoodleBib: www.noodletools.com
Free on the internet for future use: www.Bibme.com or www.EasyBib.com
MLA or APA format should be used. See OWL@Purdue for specifications:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/
In general, MLA format is used for topics in humanities (literature, history, art) and APA is used in the
sciences (math, science)
HOW TO START INTERNET RESEARCHING
Once you have a research topic, the fun begins!
Start by finding out what resources are available to you. Think about where to go to get the best
resources for your topic—Google or another mass search engine is not always the best choice!
*Try the library’s databases (we have Newsbank, EBSCO and CultureGrams –Usernames: ISP
Passwords: library).
*Try taking the research survey here to see where would be a good spot to start:
http://www.noodletools.com/noodlequest/
*Or go to NoodleTools’s list of where to search best for your topic:
http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html
Remember, when you are searching you are talking to a computer—it will not do anything except what
you tell it to! The computer will not make guesses or fill in the blanks in your research SO you must
learn to search in several different ways. Here are some tips to help you get started!
Example research question—Do dolphins have language or communication skills?
TIP!
If you are not finding what you want try searching
a different term. Sometimes you want to start
broad by searching the overview of your topic, but
most of the time that search is going to give you
lots of things you don’t want—these terms are too
broad. Try searching more specifically.
Example Search Term
If what you want is still not coming up or you are
getting deeper into your research--try searching
synonyms or similar words.
animal communication
dolphin language
raven communication
animal linguistics
Try searching for topics related to your search
Language vs communication
Communication theory
Search Operators—if I want an exact phrase I
would put quotes around my search term.
Search Operators—If I would like to search for two
search terms at the same time-making sure both
are used I will add the word AND in-between
them.
Search Operators—If I would like to search for a
variety of things that could fit in the middle of a
phrase I can put an asterisk in place of the missing
word. The example might pull up results for
searches like: animals use language, animals do
not use language, animals learn language, etc.
Broad: Animals
Language
Specific: animal language
Exact phrase: “chimp talk George Johnson”
Ravens AND animal language
Wild Card: animals * language
Search Operators—If I would like to search and
exclude something from the results I will add a
minus sign in front of the thing I want excluded.
This is particularly useful if a certain topic is
coming up in your searches that you do not want!
Exclude: animal language -dolittle
Use search terms that mimic the vocabulary you
want to find-do not type in sentences or questions
NO: talking animals or Do animals use language to
communicate?
YES: animal semantics or animal pragmatics
Use the Advanced search options!
On Google they look like this:
See more searching tips from Google:
http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/static.py?hl=en&page=guide.cs&guide=1221265&ans
wer=134479&rd=3
Google Advanced Search:
Remember to use your sources wisely! If you find a good source, take a look at their bibliography—
maybe there are good sources there that you can use. If you find a good phrase in a source that
captures what you want to research—use it as a search term. Let your research guide you to new
sources and topics!