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Tips for Online Searching

Search Engines 

The first step in finding the resources and results you need is to use the proper search engine.  Below, you will find links and descriptions of various types of search engines.  These search engines are for more scholarly and academic resources that would be used as citations or sources in school work.  If you need quick information for personal interest or use, Google or Bing will suffice.

  • Arkansas Traveler - Includes several different academic databases in one search engine. 

  • Google Scholar - Search engine that searches for scholarly articles, books, and academic files.  Not your typical Google because you will not find run-of-the-mill websites.

  • Farmington Library Resources - You can also look through the various databases we have on our high school website. NOTICE: You will need your library ID number.

  • Arkansas Tech Library - I highly recommend this search engine if you are looking for scholarly articles for research and sources. Simply type in your keywords in the search box found in the middle of the page. 

What Type of Source Do You Need

There are several different types of sources you are going to encounter when doing a search.  You need to determine what type of source you need that will best help you in your problem.

  • Scholarly Article - Shorter than a novel, longer than a newspaper article (usually). Written by those who are well-versed in their fields and published in an academic journal.

  • Peer Reviewed Article - Try to find articles that are considered peer reviewed.  This means that the information published has been reviewed by other experts in the field to ensure accuracy.

  • Book - A much longer and detailed piece of work.  A proper academic book will include several citations and sources.

  • Video - Videos can be useful and powerful sources when used properly.  Ensure that the video is published by a well-known or well-respected organization.  Also, make sure that the information in the video is accurate by cross checking the information with other articles or websites.

  • Pictures - Pictures and graphs can be informative and helpful; however, make sure that you use them sparingly because oftentimes they cannot provide as much detailed information as a book or article. 

  • Websites - These are your general websites that have information but are not necessarily considered scholarly.  If you choose to use a website, try to make sure that it is a .edu, .gov, or .org.  These domains are (usually) reserved for organizations that focus on research or accurate information. 

 

Determing Search Keywords

Once you have chosen what type of search engine you want to use, your next step is to determine what search phrase or keywords will help you get the best results.  Keep the following tips in mind when determining search phrases:

  • If you are not sure what you exactly need, use broad phrases to find resources that you can look through.  You can look for specific topics in the broader results you get.

    • For example, if you need to do a research paper over the Civil Rights Movement, you can search "Civil Rights Movement." Then you can look through resources to find more specific topics such as The March on Birmingham or the Selma protests.

  • Use quotation marks around words that you specifically want to appear in your results.

    • For example, "Civil Rights Movement" and "Letters from Birmingham."

  • Continue to change up your phrases and keywords with synonyms and different phrases so that you can continue to get different results until you find what you need.

  • Try using an advanced search feature on your search engine to use multiple keywords to narrow down your search needs.

Knowing When you Have Found a Good Source

Using these tips that I have provided, you will hopefully find many sources that will aid you in solving your problem.  

 

Be sure to use the "How to Evaluate Sources" page on this website to determine which resource will best help you in providing accurate, unbiased, and helpful information in your project. 

 

Try to use at least three academic, scholarly sources that withstand the CARS evaluation method for each point you making in your argument or description.  This will help ensure you provide enough research and evidence to support your point. 

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