Where are you going to find your information? This is the first question to consider when conducting research. You might say, “I’ll Google it,” but that would not be the optimal place to find credible sources. In order to find strong research material, you must begin with utilizing the proper search engines. You would best off utilizing academic databases, such as EBSCO, JSTOR, or Lexis Nexus. Most of these databases require subscriptions, however, this does not mean you are out of luck. All colleges, many professional organizations, and even public libraries have access to these academic databases.
These scholarly search engines have information and journals that have gone through some sort of gate-keeping process. A gate-keeping process is a process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet, or some other mode of communication. In other words, it helps prevent misinformation to be spread, as the information must first be vetted and determined to be credible. We cannot just get our information from any website. If you are still inclined to utilize Google, however, then, at least use Google Scholar, as this a version of the Google search engine that it tailored to find more academic and scholarly resources rather than the popular searches.
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