Research Help

Research Guides: What Are They For and What's In Them?

Research Guides can be a great time-saver, and a way to start off your research with high-quality library and web resources tailored to your specific program.

Research guides are online tools developed by the library to help you do research at Georgian. A list of them is located in the drop-down menu on the right side of the library home page, organized by program name.

The research guide for your program can be a useful starting point for research assignments. Each guide was developed to help you find and explore reliable resources that are specific to your field.

Research guides use tabs to collect and organize different types of resources. They highlight significant resources such as books, videos, academic journals, and research databases for your discipline.

Research guides also offer organized lists of links to web resources. Finding reliable information on the web can be a challenge so the library has done some of the work for you.

Each guide is different, and you may also find links to statistics, professional associations and organizations, government information, and legal information, as well as open access directories, tipsheets, and important news about your field of study.

The library also maintains several special topic research guides covering areas such as standards and codes, career research, and Indigenization, as well as a Makerspace guide to virtual tools that you can find online or download to communicate, create, and inspire.

You can find them listed with the program research guides under the “Topic Guide” type.

Research Guides can make your research process more efficient, and they offer a quick way to find high-quality resources that have been chosen specifically for your program.

Evaluating Resources: Digging Deeper

Once you have determined that a resource may be helpful because it relates to your topic and meets your assignment’s requirements for length, resource type, and so on, you need to dig deeper and evaluate the actual content of the resource. You want to use high-quality information because excellent resources lead to better assignments.

Here are some questions to consider when determining the quality of a resource, whether it’s an article, a book, a video, a web resource, or any electronic equivalent.

Look at the authors. Does their educational background fit the subject area of the resource? Are they qualified to write in this field? For example, doctors and nurses are qualified to publish in medical or nursing journals, while others may not be.

Look at the publisher. An authoritative or respected publisher is often referred to as academic or scholarly. This shows a level of confidence in their published information, study results, and data. Books, journals, and web resources may be published by an academic institution such as the University of Toronto, or by a well-known academic publisher like Sage. Some journals contain peer-reviewed articles. That means that they have undergone a rigorous scholarly review process prior to publication.

Look at the intended audience for the resource. For whom has it been written? Is it written for the general public, for a professional in the field, or for an academic researcher? Clues can be found in the language used: Is it conversational or is it technical? Is the language specific to a field or discipline?

Consider why something has been published. Has it been written to inform or to entertain a wide audience? Has it been written by professionals in a field for those working in the field? For example, has it been written for people working in graphic design, the golf industry, computer programming, the tourism industry, or early childhood education? Has it been written to present research in an academic context?

Consider the question of bias. Every article is written from the author’s point of view. You should be able to tell if the information is based mainly on the author’s opinion or if it’s based on facts or research. Is the author fairly presenting both sides of an argument or promoting only one side of the discussion? Is he or she showing prejudice against an idea or group?

It’s important that you use multiple resources that provide a balanced and well-supported foundation for your topic. Considering all of these questions while gathering your resources will help to ensure that you produce a high-quality result.

So You Found Something on the Web: Should You Use It or Lose It?

When you’re evaluating web content, you ask many of the same questions as you do with other types of resources. Who created or published it and what expertise do they have in the subject? When was the content created? What is the focus of the content and the intended audience?

Look at the creator or publisher. With a web resource the creator may be an individual, organization, association, corporation, or government department. What qualifies them to publish in this field? Look for contact information, an “about us” page, or an author biography or educational qualifications to determine the expertise of the creator or publisher. Can you find this information? If not, you may want to reconsider using the resource.

Consider YouTube. The person who uploaded a video may not be the creator or copyright holder of the content. The same is true for sites like Reddit, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The poster is often not the creator of the content. You have to determine the original creator and copyright holder in order to cite the content properly.

Consider wikis such as Wikipedia. They allow collaborative publishing and editing of content. It may not be possible to identify the original creator or editors. Sometimes the content added to an entry is deliberately biased or inaccurate. Wiki content is also likely to change because it can be edited or updated at any time.

Try to determine when the information that you’re looking at was written, published, or updated. This date may be different from the date when the website was created or updated. Even new websites can have older content. It’s up to you to determine if that content is still valid.

Identify the intent of the content. Does the creator have an obvious bias or are both sides of the question considered? Is the content based on facts or opinion? How are the conclusions supported? Is there any evidence provided, such as references to other research or links to other credible sources? Do other websites link to the one you’re evaluating? Is the intent of the content to advertise, persuade, or inform? It’s important that the web content you use is appropriate for your assignment, so consider these points carefully.

You can find other clues in the way the website is presented.

A well-designed and maintained website may be an indicator of credible content. Look for appropriate graphics, advertising, and high-quality images. The website should not have dead links, spelling or grammar errors, or typos. Sites translated into English may be an exception – consider the website’s language and country of origin. Also be aware that some sites are developed specifically as fakes or may feature humourous or satirical content.

It’s important to verify content that you find on the web by consulting other sources, both on and off the web.

If you’ve considered all of these questions, you’ve completed a thorough evaluation and can make an informed decision about including the website as a source in your research.

Getting to the Good Stuff: Accessing better web content

You can find lots of research-related material on the web. Information is added to and subtracted from the web every day, so it’s important to know the best types of web content for college-level research.

Let’s look at some categories of web resources that can often provide reliable information for your assignments.

Blog posts may be written by individuals or companies. They need to be reviewed carefully for bias. Blogs have typically been non-academic content but some scholars are now using them as a platform for publishing. Just make sure that you review the content carefully and ensure that it’s appropriate for your research.

Departments and agencies at the municipal, provincial, federal, and international levels of government use the web to communicate research and policies, which can be excellent resources. Often this is also the best place to find population-specific or geographically specific data.

Data sets can be found on many websites. Examine them for bias and determine where the data originally came from. Data sets may be broad or local in scope. Examples include Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data sets, international travel data, or attendance numbers for local events.

Company websites have a known bias but may give access to reports that may not be available on other platforms. You can also access news releases, contact information, advertising, and product and service information.

Organizations, institutions, and professional associations are often large and well-organized. They have a known bias but can be great sources. They are excellent at communicating professional standards and practices. They may also have job boards specific to a field. Membership may be required in order to access all of their web material.

“Open access” content is available to everyone and is typically copyright cleared for use. The information may or may not be academic. It may be found on sites like Internet Archives, Creative Commons, or discipline-specific sites. Directories of some open access content can also be found.

Social media platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest are not academic sources. However, they may point you toward an academic source or indicate a trend.

Having a good search technique is essential to locating web material efficiently and effectively.

You may want to get familiar with one or two search engines and learn their tips and tricks. Google is the most widely used search engine and its Google Scholar platform can help you locate academic resources. But be warned: Google Scholar may ask you to pay for access to resources. The library may have those resources already in its collection, free for you to use.

Google is not the only search engine, and others may work better depending on your specific needs.

You can use web resources when it’s appropriate for your research and assignments. Just make sure that you seek out high quality information and have a specific search goal in mind.