Online research tools are game-changers for journalists. From search engines to specialized databases, these digital resources offer a wealth of information at your fingertips. But knowing how to use them effectively is key to finding reliable, relevant content for your stories.

Advanced search techniques can supercharge your research. By mastering tricks like Boolean operators and field searching, you'll be able to zero in on exactly what you need. Plus, learning to assess source credibility will help you separate the wheat from the chaff in the vast sea of online information.

Online Research Tools

Types of Online Research Tools

• Search engines (Google, Bing) allow journalists to find a wide range of information across the open web
  • Strengths include the vast scope of information indexed and the ability to find recent news and developments
  • Limitations include varying credibility of sources and potential for information overload
• Library databases (ProQuest, EBSCO, JSTOR) provide access to scholarly journals, books, and other academic sources
  • Tend to have more authoritative and peer-reviewed content compared to the open web
  • Often require subscriptions through educational institutions or libraries
• News archives (Nexis Uni, Factiva) contain extensive collections of current and historical news articles and press releases
  • Allow journalists to research coverage of past events and track evolving narratives over time
  • May have limited coverage of smaller local publications compared to major national/international outlets
• Specialized databases focus on specific subject areas and types of content
  • Examples include PubMed for medical research, EDGAR for corporate filings, and SSRN for social science preprints
  • Provide more targeted and technical information for stories on niche topics

Effective Use of Online Research Tools

• Understanding the scope and limitations of each tool is crucial for finding the most relevant and reliable information
  • For example, Google Scholar indexes academic literature but may not have the latest news coverage
  • Nexis Uni has extensive news archives but limited scholarly content compared to library databases
• Many online research tools require paid subscriptions for full access to content
  • Journalists often access these subscriptions through universities, employers, or public libraries
  • Open web tools like Google are free but may have less authoritative/vetted information
• Developing strong search strategies is key to locating relevant information efficiently
  • Use specific keywords and phrases related to the story topic and angle
  • Apply filters like date ranges, source types, and subject areas to refine search results
  • Utilize advanced search operators and techniques (covered in the next section) for more targeted queries

Advanced Search Techniques

Crafting Targeted Search Queries

• Phrase searching using quotation marks returns only exact matches for the full phrase
  • Example: "climate change" will return only results containing that exact wording
  • Useful for finding specific named entities, quotes, or titles
• Proximity searching looks for keywords that appear within a specified distance of each other
  • Example: tax NEAR/3 reform will return results where "tax" and "reform" appear within 3 words of each other
  • Helps find connected concepts and names that may not always appear as an exact phrase
• Truncation and wildcard symbols expand searches to include variant word endings and spellings
  • Example: investigat will return results containing investigate, investigated, investigation, etc.
  • Most databases use for multiple characters and ? for single characters
• Boolean operators AND, OR, and NOT allow for more precise combinations of search terms
  • AND requires all terms to be present, OR allows any of the listed terms, NOT excludes certain terms
  • Example: (football OR soccer) AND (concussion OR "traumatic brain injury") NOT helmet

Searching for Specific Content Types

• Site-specific searching with the site: operator limits results to only pages from a specified domain
  • Example: site:nytimes.com "climate change" will return only pages from nytimes.com mentioning that phrase
  • Useful for finding information from specific reputable sources or for comparing coverage across outlets
• Numeric range searching with greater than (>) and less than (<) operators helps locate data and statistics
  • Example: "unemployment rate" >5% will return mentions of unemployment rates higher than 5%
  • Can also be used for date ranges, prices, and other numeric values
• Field searching looks for keywords only in specific metadata fields like title, author, publication, or abstract
  • Example: au(smith) AND ti(climate change) in a database would find articles by authors named Smith with "climate change" in the title
  • Syntax varies by database; some use drop-down menus or advanced search forms for field searching
• Format-specific searches use file type extensions to find specific content formats
  • Example: report filetype:pdf will return only PDF reports, excluding web pages and other document types
  • Useful for finding authoritative long-form content like government reports, scientific papers, and data tables

Source Credibility Assessment

Factors to Consider in Evaluating Online Sources

• Author expertise and credentials indicate if the creator has relevant subject knowledge and authority
  • Look for academic degrees, professional experience, prior publications, and institutional affiliations
  • Be cautious of anonymous or uncredentialed authors, especially for complex topics
• Publishing organization's reputation and editorial standards reflect on the likely reliability of its content
  • Established newspapers, scientific journals, government agencies, and academic institutions tend to be more credible
  • Blogs, special interest sites, and user-generated content platforms require more careful vetting
• Cited evidence and sources allow you to assess the factual basis and research behind the content
  • Credible articles include references and links to authoritative sources to back up claims
  • Be skeptical of content with no sources or that relies mostly on other questionable websites
• Information currency is important for topics where understanding may evolve rapidly
  • Check publication dates and look for the most recent authoritative information, especially on scientific and tech topics
  • Older content may be outdated or disproven by new evidence, but can still be useful for historical analysis
• Potential biases and conflicts of interest may skew the presentation of information to favor certain viewpoints
  • Consider if the author or organization has political, ideological, or financial incentives to make certain arguments
  • Disclosure statements, "about us" pages, and third-party coverage can help identify potential biases

Heuristics and Tools for Assessing Credibility

• Domain suffixes provide clues about the organization type, but are not foolproof indicators of reliability
  • .edu (educational), .gov (government) and .org (nonprofit) sites often have authoritative content
  • However, some reputable outlets use .com and anyone can obtain a .org domain
• Searching for other coverage on the same topic helps gauge the credibility and consensus around particular claims
  • Compare information across multiple authoritative outlets to determine the weight of evidence
  • Extraordinary or contradictory claims may indicate an unreliable source, especially if uncorroborated
• Fact-checking websites like Snopes, PolitiFact, and FactCheck.org investigate the veracity of notable claims
  • Useful for checking potential misinformation and viral content
  • Keep in mind fact-checkers' own potential biases and the limited scope of claims checked
• Lateral reading by opening multiple tabs to research a source's credibility is more effective than relying on site descriptions
  • Perform web searches on the author, organization, and claims to see what trusted sources say about them
  • Use Wikipedia (with caution) to gain quick background information on a source's reputation and history

Citing Online Information

Ethical Attribution Practices for Journalists

• Journalists must properly cite information to credit original sources and provide transparency to readers
  • Shows the story is well-researched and allows readers to verify information
  • Avoids plagiarism by clearly distinguishing original reporting from information gathered elsewhere
• In-text attribution should be provided for specific facts, statistics, quotes, and ideas from sources
  • Can be placed in the lead for key facts or woven throughout the story (e.g. "According to a 2020 Pew Research study, ...")
  • Should include enough detail for readers to identify and find the original source
• Expert interviews should be clearly attributed with the source's full name, title, and affiliation in first reference
  • E.g. "said Jane Smith, professor of economics at the University of Michigan"
  • Subsequent references can use just the last name or a title like "Dr. Smith"
• Aim to quote sources in their own words to convey authority
  • Paraphrase or summarize to synthesize key points in your own words
  • Avoid long verbatim passages without quotes, as this may be seen as plagiarism even with attribution

Formats for Citing Online Sources

• Hyperlinks to original online sources should be included in the text or list of citations
  • Allows readers to easily access the original context and assess credibility
  • Use descriptive link text rather than raw URLs for readability (e.g. "a 2020 Pew Research study found..." with "study" linked)
• Formal citation styles may be appropriate for longer, in-depth stories to fully document sources
  • Common styles include Chicago Manual of Style notes/bibliography and APA parenthetical citations
  • Check with editors for house style guides on preferred citation formats
• Footnotes are useful for including detailed source information without disrupting the story flow
  • Indicated with superscript numbers in the text and corresponding notes at bottom of page or end of story
  • Can include author, title, publication, date, URL and accessed date for web sources
• Embedded links and parenthetical citations are suitable for shorter web stories to avoid clutter
  • Include key source details and a link in the text where information is referenced
  • E.g. (Source: EPA report on air quality, 2021) with "report" linked to the original document