Search Engines
26 05 2009When searching different topics for a research paper, I have learned that about 99% of the articles I find using google are completely illegitimate. I usually just try using JSTOR because those are guaranteed to be legitimate, peer-reviewed articles that are very useful in my papers. This exercise helped me realize that I don’t just have to use my exact topic wording to find articles that are pertinent to my research. By using “spanking” (in google, I pulled up a lot of “mature” sites) I found a lot of articles about spanking, but I found even more when I used “child beating,” “child discipline,” and “child raising.” I found these by using the thesaurus which I found extremely helpful. I found the most when I used “child rearing practices.” While that not only encompasses spanking, it also provided articles that dealt with other techniques in rearing children. This exercise taught me to use different phrasing, which will help give my paper more quality and depth.
As for your research topic, if you don’t mind my chiming in, I love by the way your topic and would love to read your final project, I will suggest several other databases, such as Academic Search Complete, PsycINFO ( as you are looking at feelings of happiness and satisfaction), and Sociological Abstracts. If you have questions, I am on the chat from 4-5 p.m. (accessed from the library guide).
On a side note, I love the game “apples to apples” and also dream about going to Greece.