How Proper Online Research Works
How Proper Online Research Works
Legitimate methods, suggested techniques, good sense, and plenty of patience
By Paul Gil
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July, 2014
Legitimate online research involves much more than 10 seconds with Google and copy-pasting the Wikipedia links. Legitimate research is called re-search for a reason: patient repetition, careful filtering, and the separation of drivel from verified content, all performed with a critical and skeptical mindset.
There are over 86 billion web pages published, and most of those pages are not worth quoting. To successfully sift it all, you must use consistent and reliable filtering methods. You will need patience to see the full breadth of writing on any single topic. And you will need your critical thinking skills to disbelieve anything until it is intelligently validated.
If you are a student, or if you are seeking serious medical, professional, or historical information, definitely heed these 8 suggested steps to researching online:
1. Decide if the Topic Is 'Hard Research', 'Soft Research', or Both.
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'Hard' and 'soft' research have different expectations of data and proof. You should know the hard or soft nature of your topic to point your search strategy where it will yield the most reliable research results.
A) 'Hard research' describes scientific and objective research, where proven facts, figures, statistics, and measurable evidence are absolutely critical. In hard research, the credibility of every resource must be able to withstand intense scrutiny.
B) 'Soft research' describes topics that are more subjective, cultural, and opinion-based. Soft research sources will be less scrutinized by the readers. C) Combined soft and hard research requires the most work, because this hybrid topic broadens your search requirements. Not only do you need to find hard facts and figures, but you will need to debate
Legitimate methods, suggested techniques, good sense, and plenty of patience
By Paul Gil
Ads:
Writing Competitions
Essay Writing
Research Paper Writing
Research Essay
Academic Writing
July, 2014
Legitimate online research involves much more than 10 seconds with Google and copy-pasting the Wikipedia links. Legitimate research is called re-search for a reason: patient repetition, careful filtering, and the separation of drivel from verified content, all performed with a critical and skeptical mindset.
There are over 86 billion web pages published, and most of those pages are not worth quoting. To successfully sift it all, you must use consistent and reliable filtering methods. You will need patience to see the full breadth of writing on any single topic. And you will need your critical thinking skills to disbelieve anything until it is intelligently validated.
If you are a student, or if you are seeking serious medical, professional, or historical information, definitely heed these 8 suggested steps to researching online:
1. Decide if the Topic Is 'Hard Research', 'Soft Research', or Both.
Tara Moore/Taxi/Getty Images
'Hard' and 'soft' research have different expectations of data and proof. You should know the hard or soft nature of your topic to point your search strategy where it will yield the most reliable research results.
A) 'Hard research' describes scientific and objective research, where proven facts, figures, statistics, and measurable evidence are absolutely critical. In hard research, the credibility of every resource must be able to withstand intense scrutiny.
B) 'Soft research' describes topics that are more subjective, cultural, and opinion-based. Soft research sources will be less scrutinized by the readers. C) Combined soft and hard research requires the most work, because this hybrid topic broadens your search requirements. Not only do you need to find hard facts and figures, but you will need to debate