subject: Best Electronic Research Tools [print this page] The internet and electronic media has completely changed the way that research is done in modern times. No longer do researchers need to spend days and weeks in libraries going over books and combing through old newspaper articles to find snippets of relevant information. Simple Google searches now return more extensive and more applicable sources than could have ever been hoped for fifty years ago. But what are the best research tools? If you were a college student writing a research paper and needed to go to the best sources as soon as possible, where should you go?
For the general web user, Google is still the apex of the search industry. No other search engine offers results that are as timely and as relevant as Google. The Google search algorithm is second to none when comes to sorting out spam and producing the results that are most likely to be clicked on. Web sites, news articles, blogs, etc..., if it is information that can be read, you can bet that Google has most likely crawled and put it into the search network's database. It is always a solid starting point for any researching.
Wikipedia offers an easy to find online encyclopedia on just about every subject ever known to mankind in its entire existence. From the Renaissance to sports stats to what your neighbor down the street does for a living, you can bet that Wikipedia will have it. The downside of Wikipedia is that literally anybody with any kind of typing ability can add or delete information for a given entry. This has led to a bit of a negative reputation regarding the site for valuable information, but the fact of the matter is the vast majority of the information that the site houses is accurate. I would be careful citing any information from Wikipedia, but it is a terrific research tool for putting you on the right path. In addition, much of the information on there is cited and you can follow those links to more prestigious sources.
More extensive tools can be found by logging into your school or local library (most offer online access with a library card). LexisNexis is a Boolean search tool that has been around for over thirty years, but is still far better for finding primary source material than most modern search engines. It allows you to target your searches to the most relevant databases and returns all results that match the keywords you enter. While a search engine like Google may return the best overall results, sometimes you are just looking for a snippet or idea that fits your point. Ask your librarian if they have LexisNexis or what other online databases they recommend.
If none of these options work for you, I do recommend an old fashioned trip to the library. They have these weird things with books and pages that contain information - often useful information if you know what you are looking for. For hundreds of years, people did get things done through this method, it just took slightly longer.
