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Online/Distance Learning

Beyond your basic Google Search

Don't rely on Google for your research.  Try using these academic search engines instead, however it's your responsibility to make sure the articles you find are peer-reviewed.

Trustworthy Websites

The key to internet research is to know whether you can trust the website or not.  The first step in this process is to know your domains.  
  • .EDU – educational institution, backed by research.
  • .GOV – government
  • .MIL – military
  • .ORG can be trusted but be aware that it will be biased to where the money for the organization is coming from.
  • .COM is far less trustworthy as you often do not know the creator and they do not cite their sources.
 
DO NOT TRUST
  • Wikipedia – not an academic site.  Anyone can add information to pages.
  • Blogs – an individual’s opinion
 
Proper Google Searching
Enter the following to search by domain and your topic and your research will be only from domains you trust.
  • .site:gov
  • .site:edu
  • site:mil