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Online Research

Find out where to look - Google Scholar, Wikipedia and beyond, and what to look for when you're evaluating your results.

Government Websites

Government websites are large, rich resources for many kinds of information, especially reports, press releases, consumer/citizen information, policy documents and statistics.

Non-Profit Organizations

Non-profit organizations can be a great source for information or link directories. Many of the larger organizations commission studies and research. These are just a few examples:

Interest Sites

While many interest sites have been set up by fans or hobbyists, and are not very useful for serious study, some have evolved into large repositories of information. Always make sure to verify facts you find online, especially if posted by an anonymous user.

Other Search Engines

Google isn't the only game in town when it comes to online searching. Each search engine has its own (propietary) mechanisms and crawlers, so the results for the same search in different engines can bring very different results. Here are some alternatives to try when Google doesn't get you where you want to go:

DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo is an Internet search engine that emphasizes protecting searchers' privacy and avoiding the filter bubble of personalized search results.

Bing
The engineers at Microsoft claim their tool "finds and organizes the answers you need so you can make faster, more informed decisions."

Filters

Have you tried the filter settings on your favourite search engine yet?

Look on the top right or under the top banner of your results list to find out how you can search within your search.

For example, Google lets you refine by:

  • Images
  • Videos
  • News
  • Maps
  • Books
  • Canada-only sites
  • Time - last 24 hrs, week, month, year
  • Timeline - maps sites by dates
  • Shopping sites
  • Translated foreign-language sites
  • Sites with images