Before you start doing any research, make sure you know what you're looking for.  This might seem obvious, but it's easy to overlook.  Check the previous hub in this series, "The Basics of Academic Research" for pointers on how to succinctly sumarise your research topic.

In short, you should:

• Have a topic that is not too broad, but not too specific
• Make sure you have a list of keywords that are related to your topic

Once you have this, you're ready to start.

If you're feeling a little lost and confused--say, if this is your first time doing research--an excellent place to go is your local library's reference desk.  Here you can find a paid professional (like myself) who will be more than happy to assist you by providing suggestions based on their local collections, by offering keywords and other related fields for your topic that you may not have thought of, and by helping you to narrow down (or broader out) your topic as necessary.

Reference librarians are friendly folk, and are often tired of answering "Can I use your stapler?" and "Where is the bathroom?" all day, so don't be afraid!  Head on over to the reference desk.

If you'd rather go it alone, you'll be happy to know that the vast majority of research can now be completed from any computer using the internet.  Although you will more than likely have to leave your monitor's comforting glow at some point during the process, at the start of your road you're likely to stay there.

So open up a few internet tabs and load the links below.

The Internet is a fantastic research tool--IF you use it responsibly.

There are many problems with researching on the Internet, many of which are the same things as the benefits.  Here's a brief run-down of what to look for to make sure you're getting reliable information.

• Tone - What is the tone of the web site?  Is it trying to sell you a certain product, or is it giving you a balanced view of all sides of the issue you're researching?
• Accountability - Can you figure out who is responsible for the web site?  Is there any way to contact the person?  When was the last time the web site was updated?
• Credentials - If you can find out who created the site, are they the kind of person who knows what they're talking about?  Do they hold a degree or have years of experience in their field?

Remember that even if you can't find out this information, you can always check the Reliability of the information by trying to find it in other places.  If you can't find the information anywhere  but the one web site, chances are it's not good information.

The thing to remember about Wikipedia is that it is not a foolproof source of information. Although studies have proven it to be about as reliable as the Encyclopedia Britannica (for purposes of scientific articles, in any case), that doesn't make it 100% reliable.

This is because everybody can edit Wikipedia. That means that something that's there when you do your research may be gone within a few days. While that's not necessarily a problem if you're doing research for personal purposes--and if you can confirm the data outside Wikipedia--it makes the site a bad choice for school assignments.

However, there are ways that you can use Wikipedia to find information that's both reliable and from a trustworthy source.

• The "References" section - When you find information that looks useful, check to see if it has a superscript number after it. (e.g. Acidified buttermilk is a related product that is made by adding a food-grade acid to milk.^[7]) If it does, you should be able to click on that number to see where the article's creator got the information. Go to that web site instead of Wikipedia and see if it's useful. Alternately, you can go down to the end of most articles and just look through the references to find useful books on the subject.
  
  The "External Links" section - This is much the same as the "References" section, except it may contain information not on the page. Usually, these links are reliable, but be sure to double check by reading them properly.
  
  The "Further Reading" section - Identical to the above, but for books instead of web sites.
  

If you're just not finding enough information in journals, books are excellent resources as well.  Your local library should have OPAC terminals (that stands for Online Public Access Catalogue, by the way) stationed in various places around the stacks.  If you're older, you may remember the days when libraries put everything in a card catalogue.  Fortunately those days are gone, because searching with an OPAC is a heck of a lot easier.

Check out the photo below to compare.