Finding Information Sources: Web search

Web Search Engines, like Google or DuckDuckGo can be used to find an overview of your topic, background information, keywords, similar terms or concepts, instructional videos and so much more, such as government and industry resources. Searching by keywords in Google will usually give a huge number of results.

Hints for Searching using Google

1. try out Google Advanced - add a site or domain, opt for search terms to appear "in the title of the page"
2. use "..." around phrases
3. Try using site names after search terms i.e. site:abs.gov.au, site:gov.au, or site:edu.au 
4. if you want a published report try adding filetype:pdf after your search terms

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   Frequently Asked Questions

Never cite or reference Wikipedia in an academic paper.

However, it can be a good place to start your search:

1. It's a good place to do background reading.

2. It can help you discover further keywords to use for searching.

3. You can find cited articles.

Watch this video to learn the pros and cons of using Wikipedia.