by Julie Dancer

Created on: July 03, 2007

The internet is an incredible resource. You can find out almost everything you could want to know. Unfortunately, navigating that resource can be problematic. Many sources are biased or unverifiable. Finding the exact data you want amongst thousands of irrelevant websites can be tricky. However, there are ways and means of finding what you need.

First stop should be Google. There is a reason Google is the search engine of choice - it's a very good one. Basic search can help you find broad information, but for anything more specific you will need to use the Advanced Search.

Google allows you to search only scholarly papers at http://scholar.google.co.uk/

Scholarly papers are usually more accurate sources for scientific data, literary criticism, historical speculation etc.

The second place to check is http://wikipedia.org/

Wikipedia can give an excellent introduction to almost anything. The real bonus, however, comes from the list of "References" and "See Also" links. These provide a fantastic starting point for you to broaden your field of research.

Depending on your subject, there may be government websites specializing in it. Subjects such as immigration, crime, governmental policies etc. will all have government websites. Equally, charities and businesses all have websites.

Email an expert in your field. University websites usually list the contact details of their lecturers, and these people will often be delighted to answer questions in their chosen area. You can also contact your local council, or MP. Most businesses will respond to emails sent to them. In some cases, these will be pure propaganda, but frequently they have useful information packs.

Ask questions on message forums, and mailing lists. Many people may have access to what you want to know, or be able to point you to somewhere that does. Find out if there is a blog that discusses what you want to know, and contact the author.

Once you have your information you need to check it is accurate.

1. Check the source. Is it an independent company, or does it have commercial interest? A tobacco company may gloss over the side-effects of nicotine, a pharmaceutical may word their pamphlets to highlight benefits of their drugs.

2. Is it an academic study? Who ran it, and what was their motive?

3. If looking at statistics, find out the details: how many people were in the sample, what was the test, are there any obvious method problems? Was the sample truly random? Does it reflect other cultures? Did it contain an equal number of men and women? What were the age-ranges of the people involved. Beware of statistics quoted in tabloids.

4. How in-depth is it? Sometimes things get simplified for public reading. Try and find first-hand data where you can.

5. How relevant is it? Just because you found it, doesn't make it useful. If it doesn't back-up or disprove what you are saying, it doesn't need to be in your article.

6. Are there are other studies that back it up? Has it been discredited by other research? How old is it?

Good luck!

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