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Google is a popular search engine that finds information on the open web. When you look for information on a topic using Google, you can get millions of results, which includes information from credible, as well as questionable, sources.
Credible Sources
It is important to use credible sources in academic assignments because your statements gain authority if they are supported by the work of experts.
Evaluating Information
If you are interested in using a website that you found through Google in a research paper, you must evaluate it by considering the currency, authority, accuracy, and purpose of the source. If after considering these factors you feel the source is credible, then you can quote, summarize, or paraphrase the content. Read more about evaluating information. Remember to always cite your sources. Make sure your professor allows you to use websites found on the open web as sources for your research paper.
Specialized Databases
Professors may not want you to use (or only use) Google to find sources for a research paper. Google's search engine cannot access information found in specialized databases. Many scholarly journal, magazine, newspaper, and encyclopedia articles are only available through the databases subscribed to by MC Library. Google will not tell you which books the MC Library might have about a topic either – you must search for books in the collection using RaptorSearch to do this.
Tips to Begin Finding Sources
If you are new to using library resources, here are a few tips to help you begin to gather sources about your topic:
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