Learn to Research

Find the Type of Information You Need

It is important to know what sources will be the most helpful for you as you start to look for them. 

• Do you need to provide researched evidence to prove an idea true or false?
• Are you trying to find community organizations that work in the field you want to write about?
• Consider the different types of sources, what their purpose is, and what you need the information in your source to say.
• Start with general information sources, and then go to more specific information sources.

You have probably heard of Google, Bing and Yahoo but there are dozens of search engines on the web.

• Some search only scholarly publications: arXiv.org, MedlinePlus - for a full listing look here
• Some search on subject: recipes, fashion, law, etc: Fashion Net, Yummly, CanLII
• Some search by content type: blogs, maps, prices: OpenStreetMap, Technorati

You can also try a META-SEARCH Engine like: Dogpile, Metacrawler, or Excite will search many search engines at the same time 

As a NorQuest student, you can access many resources from credible databases using the Library's OneSearch. To learn more about how to find these resources to start your research, watch the tutorial below.

NorQuest's Library OneSearch is used to find resources - both in print and digital/online formats. The tutorial below will show you how to use it.

OneSearch

Google Scholar

Another way to refine search results and gather ideas is to search Google Scholar, which finds finds only scholarly literature (but not always peer-reviewed). Save the relevant web link in a document and note the title and author.

Search Terms: Air pollution AND respiratory problems in Alberta

You can use the box above to start searching on Google Scholar.

The tutorial linked below will teach you more information about Google Scholar.