ENGL 127 Research Writing: Social Sciences

For students doing research on social science topics

Searching the Web

(Click on video to open in another window)
Source: "Searching Google Effectively" by Joshua Vossler, UWF Libraries, Educational use.

Key Web Resources

Useful Websites

The following web sites (and search engines) are a place to start, though they offer just a hint of what's out there.

Statistics & Government Resources


Select Research Centers /Public Policy Think Tanks


Specific Social Issues

Why Websites?

Why Use Websites?

The web is a great resource for the following:

  • Government information
  • International sources
  • Up-to-the-minute and local news
  • Local resources
  • Organizations involved in an issue
  • Statistics
  • Opinion
  • Images and video
  • and much more

Don't Settle!

Effective Web Searching

While the site domain does not determine the quality of an information source, domain-specific searching is an effective search strategy.  

Limit to:

  • Government websites: site:.gov
  • Educational institutions (but watch out for student work!) site:.edu
  • Non-profit organizations (and some businesses) site:.org
  • Specific industries and many news sources are commercial enterprises. site:.com