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Fullerton College Library

Cyber Security

Internet Resources

Internet Resources

There are many good resources on the internet. A robust research strategy can involve using internet and library resources. Some tips for maximizing your internet research success:

  • Start with suggested resources that have already been vetted.
  • Remember to evaluate all your sources for reliability. 
  • Use Advanced Google Search techniques.

Suggested Resources

How to know if something's reliable

Ask these questions of each source:

  • Who says?

    Examine the author or publication and their motivations for writing what they are writing. Consider their reputation. Are they going to be held accountable if they lie or mislead? Or are they going to benefit in some way from presenting biased information? 

 

  • How do they know?

    The method for finding information is important. Did the author research the topic in a systematic and valid way? Or did they make things up? A responsible author will be transparent about their methods and cite any work they used to form their conclusions.

 

  • Could they be wrong?

    Even the most well intentioned authors are subject to bias, logical fallacies, and plain mistakes. To minimize the chance of mistakes, reputable publications have an editing process that looks over work for errors before it is published. Although not all editors catch all mistakes, some editing process is better than none. The peer review process for academic work is considered to be the most thorough in trying to catch mistakes.

 

  • Could there be another explanation?

    Two people can witness the same event then disagree about what they saw because they were observing different aspects of what happened. Even the most well-intentioned, honest writers and editors can find themselves in this situation. For every source, double-check with at least two other sources to see if they claim same thing or something similar.

For best results: you want to do this for all of the sources you find for your research. Even the resources you find in the library databases.

How Google Search Works

How Google Search Works

Understanding a little bit about Google Search will help you better use Google to find reliable research.

Google Advanced Search