Popular websites are great for idea creation and background research. But many tech websites use affiliate marketing and other paid promotions in their regular publications.
As a researcher, it is important for you to scrutinize sources for bias. Consider if a source’s bias is shaping how information is presented to you, and how you use that information in your paper.
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To get started, I recommend Academic Search Complete and/or Google Scholar, which are both good for topic development and background research.
Then, I recommend looking at ScienceDirect, Scopus, and/or Web of Science, which are robust STEM databases that contain high-quality peer-reviewed journal articles.
Finally, check out databases like IEEE Xplore and/or ACM Digital Library, which have more specific computer science and information technology resources.
By their very nature, academic resources are not breaking news (Although, a lot of these databases have pre-published works and conference papers that can be recent sources). But academic sources are great for context. So, even if a source does not directly address your argument, it might have related evidence that can further prove your point.
After you've selected your topic, come up with a research question, and done some background reading, you'll need to create a search strategy to find books and articles in databases. Database searching is different from searching Google - databases cannot interpret questions and phrases. It's necessary to build a search strategy to get the best results quickly.
Databases also use Boolean operators. You can see these on the advanced search on most databases.
Note: If you are using a database, use quotation marks to indicate that a multi-word phrase is a keyword (ex. “artificial intelligence” instead of artificial intelligence).
This search, on the advanced search page of IEEE Xplore, will result in articles about artificial intelligence and the environment, as well as ai and the environment.
If you are using a simple search instead of an advanced search, like the image above, use parentheses to add an order of operations. In this case, the database will recognize that artificial intelligence as well as ai are synonyms that should be considered together in the search. It also recognizes that environment is a whole other part of the query. So, like above, this will not lead to results about the environment outside of an AI context.
While Google is personalized (meaning it gathers information about you to make assumptions about what you are trying to find out), academic databases are customized (meaning you apply your own filters to get the best results).
Even with filters, you must look through several pages of database results to gather relevant research for your paper. Results from a database will remain relatively the same when you repeat the same search multiple times, since it is not organized by an algorithm. The only time it should change is if a new article is added. The same cannot be said for Google or even Google Scholar, which still is paid to promote specific results.
One strategy is to identify different factors you can evaluate when deciding whether to use a piece of information, such as the CORE Method. It's also important to remember that valid information can come in different forms from many source types. There is no "start here first" - instead different sources have different strengths and weaknesses depending on your particular research needs.
Currency
When was it produced?
How frequent are updates to the source?
Is information up-to-date?
Objectivity
Why was it written?
Does it contain facts or opinions?
Is the viewpoint biased?
Reliability
Is information verifiable?
Are sources identified?
Is it consistent with itself as well as with related outside sources?
Expertise
Do authors have relevant experience?
Was the source edited or peer-reviewed?
Is the publisher reputable?
Another model is the SIFT method, created by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield.
1. STOP: Consider our initial reaction, especially to a headline.
2. Investigate: Use lateral reading, meaning use Google, Wikipedia, or another source to see what other sources say about this source. Don't just trust their 'About Us' section!
3. Find better coverage: What are other people saying? Are others corroborating the evidence?
4. Trace: Locate the original source of evidence. For example, if you are reading a news article on a scientific study, check out that study to make sure the journalist is making an accurate conclusion.
