Google It: Research 101 Using the Google Search Engine
The research process has changed in the last 20 years as computers and the internet develop and become more accessible. I can remember having to use books, libraries, and microfilm to conduct research in my last years of high school and early in college. We consulted card catalogs and needed to know the Dewey Decimal system to locate the material we needed. This information probably sounds like a foreign language, but the point is that it was a totally different process than just "Googling it."
In this digital era of Googling, I am sure we have all said, "I'll Google it" at one time or another about anything we want to know. There is no doubt that Google is a powerful search engine and tool that can give us a plethora of results in sheer minutes. However, when discussing research for essays or projects, there are more effective ways to "Google It." How can we know if the information we get from Google is reliable, accurate, and okay to use in our research?
Research Steps
Let's begin by outlining the typical steps in any research project. If you were to Google it, this will vary in results, but I have found a 7-step process that works well.
Choose your topic– decide what you are going to research
Do a preliminary search– use keywords to start searching your topic (Googling it)
Locate material– weed through the results for potential sites to use
Evaluate material– find the purpose and decide if it is helpful for your topic
Make notes– start to make decisions and keep notes on the information
Write/Create– use the information in your project or essay
Cite– credit the outside material you include in your work
This article about Googling It will cover steps 2-4. To take a research class with us, email us for more information.
Important Side Note
But first, here is a note about step 7 and plagiarism. It is essential to know that information and material (including pictures) you get from "Googling It" are not free to use however and wherever you want. Have you ever created a Google Slideshow, went to Google, searched for a picture, and used it in your slideshow? Have you done that and put it into a document? What about copying and pasting those first text results in blurbs that often come up in a Google search? All of that is plagiarism. Those little blurbs under the search bar are always associated with and have a website link. They need to be cited. Images on Google are copyrighted and also need citations. Using something that originates outside your own thoughts must be cited in your work to avoid plagiarism.
To insert usable pictures into Google Slideshows, go to the Insert tab at the top and insert an image by searching the web. Google has created a collection of copyright-free pictures, even for commercial use, and they can be used and edited without requiring citations. Also, free sites such as Unsplash have more copyright-free images you can use without plagiarizing anyone's work. Otherwise, please be diligent about learning how to cite and doing it in your research projects.
Preliminary Search
Throughout this article, we will use the fairly overused and simple example of dogs to learn about researching via Google. Any search needs to begin with keywords. Keywords are the most important words related to your topic that you will type into the Google search bar. The most apparent keyword is DOG. But what happens if you type "DOG" into Google? Go ahead and try it. The results show you need more than that word to get useful information. So, we use keywords to get more specific information.
Let's do an activity to learn more about keywords. This activity is like the game Tabu. Take a pencil and put it in front of you. Think of words associated with the pencil without using the word "pencil." These words make a list of keywords you might use to search for more about pencils.
Sit down to think and write down some questions that you want to know or include. Think about who, what, where, when, why, and how.
To get more keywords, you can brainstorm about your topic. Let's look at a possible way to do that with the word DOG. We will use the ideas of similar, broader, narrower, and related to help do that.
Using these ideas, we can narrow down some things to Google. For example, we can get some pretty specific results if we type "smartest dog breed" or "jobs that dogs do."
With keywords and specific questions, we are armed and ready for our preliminary search.
Locating Material
Using the keywords and questions we have created, we can now begin our search and the tedious process of locating material. This step involves a lot of time visiting sites, reading them, and asking ourselves if we can use this in our work. If it is, we say, "I might use this," and keep track of it for later. We can dismiss it and move on if we have no use or interest in the site.
Keep a list of URLs that you might use. Keeping a URL does not mean you will use all of it. It still needs to be checked for relevance and evaluated before a final decision is made. However, you don't want to risk losing important or valuable information, so if there is even the slightest thought you might use it, keep the URL.
Evaluating the Results
Next, we need to narrow down the material we want to use. Even using keywords and questions, we will have more results than we could ever use. In this step, we must evaluate the Google search results and choose what to include in our work.
The websites we get our information from need to be reputable, meaning they have to be thought well of or have a good reputation. A reputable website is generally accepted as knowledgeable and trustworthy. Using reputable sources is crucial because we only want to include sound and accurate information in our projects.
Domain Extensions
Understanding domains is the first step in deciding if a site that appeared in a Google search is reputable. Those letters come after the second dot in a web address (the URL). Five major ones are worth discussing.
.com– This extension is the most common of them all. It is meant for commercial use. Businesses establishing their presence on the web as a for-profit (make money selling products or services) entity use .com. They are usually trying to sell their product to you. However, because it is used the most, not all .coms are business-oriented. 50% of websites use .com today (Domain Extensions para 15). It is important to examine the webpage to determine the purpose, but consider .coms sites that aim to sell you something and make money.
.net– This is the network extension. It is often associated with networks and technology. Think of your internet provider and website hosting company. They are frequently still in the business of selling something, but with a narrower focus. That being said, many companies that find their desired .com domain in use may default to using a .net, so it is always important to vet the site's purpose.
.org– The .org extension is typically used by non-profit organizations that don't make money selling things. Examples can include groups in a community or organizations to provide information about a specific subject. Many charitable organizations and "save-the-" are at a .org web address.
.edu– .edu is a restricted extension reserved only for accredited schools in the United States through the Department of Education (Eligibility para 5). It is strictly used for educational purposes. The schools can range from kindergarten to university. Their goal is to serve students and faculty and release educational information.
.gov– Another restricted extension, .gov, is used only for official government-associated websites.
This list is not restrictive of domain extensions, but they are the most common ones that will come up in your Google search. The list above is ranked from the least trustworthy to the most reliable. .edu and .gov sites are the number one sites for research. It does not mean that the other sites are not useful, but that they must be carefully vetted for purpose before use. For example, History.com is a common site and valuable for research, even though it is a .com, because it has a reputation for having trusted information. On the other hand, the ONION (theonion.com) is a news site that is not reliable because it is a satire site for entertainment purposes that will first appear to be legitimate.
The CRAAP Test
So how can we know if a site is good, especially when people are designing such realistic fake websites (like the ONION)? Simple. Use the CRAAP test, created by Sarah Blakeslee of the University of California at Chico's Meriam Library. Ask and answer the following to test a website:
Some sites to never use for research include:
Blogs– Most blogs are people's personal opinions, which have no place in most research.
WIKI– Since anyone can edit WIKI sites, it is not a reliable source
News sites– These sites are generally biased (favor one side)
Fan sites– Sites like this are written by the fans of a famous person or thing and are highly biased in favor of said person or thing.
Social media– We should never use social media for research because it is known to be highly unreliable, full of fake news, and generated by non-experts. If something seems reputable, navigate to their website to use and cite the information.
Using video sites like YouTube and Vimeo is permissible in research, but they need to be very carefully vetted and cross-referenced (check with other websites) to see if they have accurate information.
Fake News and Websites
The internet is full of fake news and fake websites. Sometimes, it can be challenging to tell the difference. There are some guidelines for telling whether a site is real or fake:
It can't be verified. When you cross-check the information with other websites, it either doesn't return the same results or we can't find it anywhere else.
The site appeals to emotion. Headlines are written in a way that might make you feel sad, scared, or overly happy about the subject. Additionally, the text on the page may use too many bold or caps to appear to be shouting.
The information comes from someone other than experts. Everything is written by someone no one knows or isn't an authority on the subject.
The website is fake. There is no about, contact, or TOS, and these pages are vague. There is no padlock on the left of the URL. It has spelling and grammar mistakes. The deals being offered are too good to be true. It looks fake.
Using the CRAAP test and the guidelines above, see if the following websites are real or fake (you can email us for the answers!):
Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus
All About Explorers: Henry Hudson
Conclusion
Armed with this information, we can produce reliable and rich sources to be used in our research. The most widely used tool for research, Google, can be mighty if we learn how to use keywords and targeted questions, break our search down into steps, and evaluate the sources and information. The next time you are given an assignment that includes research, go ahead with "Googling It." You're ready!
Take a research class with me to learn all 7 steps of research!
– Misses Dee
About the Author: My name is Delila Wuori, and I've been working in the educational field for over 25 years. It's truly my passion. I love to write and teach a lot of writing classes for all ages. I can show you how to write an article like this! You can visit me at Stone Bridges Academy. Although my time is a little limited because I have 5 children, one of whom is a toddler, if you don't find anything you need, I'd be happy to try to work something out. Please leave a comment below or send an email. I love hearing from my readers and students!
“Domain Extensions Guide: Everything You Need to Know.” Mailchimp, mailchimp.com/resources/domain-extensions/?ds_c=DEPT_AOC_Google_Search_US_EN_NB_Acquire_Broad_DSA-Rsrc_US&ds_kids=p78250621731&ds_a_lid=dsa-2227026702184&ds_cid=71700000115207178&ds_agid=58700008574686663&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw9cCyBhBzEiwAJTUWNchO5Hz6gYbpAxIm-92F3xMyrKuCi1JDYw72oMvego30KKSZtBu59RoCJEYQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds. Accessed 24 May 2024.
“Eligibility.” Educause, net.educause.edu/eligibility.htm#:~:text=Only U.S.-based postsecondary institutions,edu domain name registration. Accessed 24 May 2024.
