C. Munzenmaier • Urbandale, IA

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Resources for Research

Need help finding information on your topic? These links will get you started.

Finding Sources

Taking Notes

Citing Information

Software (free)

Just for Fun

Finding Information

Finding Information on Current Issues

  • Annenberg Public Policy Center (research on political communication, information and society, media and the developing child, health communication and adolescent risk )
  • Policy Issues (National Center for Policy Analysis)
  • Psychology Matters (APA's collection of research about how psychology affects everday lives. Topics include money, stress, and law and justice.)
  • Public Agenda Research Reports (nonpartisan public opinion research about critical issues)
  • Try searching for your topic + "think tank" or "position paper" (e.g., immigration + "think tank")

Finding Information in Specific Areas

Accounting/Business

Criminal Justice Resources

Humanities

Information Technology Resources

Legal Resources

Medical Sciences Resources

Psychology

Sociology

Pro/Con Opinions

Statistics

Judging the Quality of Sources

Citing Information

APA Style

Quick References
Online Tutorials
 Online Guides and Cheatsheets
Model Papers
 Free Software

 APA FAQs

Format

Working with Sources

Style

MLA Style

Taking Notes

Avoiding Plagiarism

Working with Quotations

Search Engine Tips and Tricks

  • Use a tilde (the ~ symbol on the top left of your keyboard) to get Google to find synonyms for your search term (e.g., a search for ~"lie detector" will return hits for polygraph as well).
  • Use a minus sign or NOT (depending on the search engine) to exclude terms (e.g., spears -Britney).
  • Add intitle to a Google search to restrict your search to Web page titles (e.g., intitle:"obesity epidemic").
  • Restrict Google searches to certain domains with site (e.g.,intitle:forensics site:gov) Useful domains include edu (educational institutions); gov (government), and mil (military).
  • If you're having trouble finding keywords, use a search engine that clusters results, such as Kartoo or Clusty. Use the folder names as keywords. You can also try AskJeeves; its natural language search often comes up with hits that other search engines miss.
  • If you're not getting enough hits, try using a meta-search engine, such as Vivisimo, IxQuick, or Metacrawler.
  • Search within a date range on Google.
  • Find professional and peer-reviewed articles at Scholar Google and Find Articles (which allows you to restrict your search to free articles). Find free articles about business and recreation at MagPortal.com.
  • When you find a search that works, set up a Google alert.
  • Two blogging search engines are Technorati.com and Blogpulse.com. If you're researching a cutting-edge topic, blogs might be a good source. However, ask some questions before trusting a blog: What are the blogger's credentials? What do others in the field think about the blogger or the topic? (One hint: if others quote or link to the blog, that adds credibility.)
  • Become a power-searcher by checking the advanced search options, reading Searching the Internet Effectively, or searching for tutorials on your favorite search engine, such as Google Guide.
  • Check Nielsen's search engine ratings.

Just for Fun

 

 

Copyright in these materials belongs to C. Munzenmaier © 2008.
Teachers are free to reproduce or modify them for nonprofit educational use.

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