If you’re performing work that requires in-depth sources, such as academic studies or a job that requires heavy research, finding quality sources can be hard. Fortunately, we live in an age of easy-access information and education, and with that comes education search engines. Let’s take a look at some of the best search engines you can use for academic research.
Tip: if you need more than academic research, check out these deep web search engines to find what Google can’t.
1. Google Scholar
Don’t be mistaken; this isn’t just regular Google! This is a branch off of “regular” Google searches, called Google Scholar. Instead of a general search, you can use it to search books, studies, and even court cases.
On the main page, simply enter the search terms that you’re interested in looking up. Google Scholar will then go through its database and pick out relevant examples. If your research is very time-sensitive (such as technology), you can select options on the left to change how recent you want your sources to be, up to and including the current year.
If you’re writing a piece that has a strict sourcing style, Google Scholar gives you template cites for its sources. Find the template that suits the style standard, then simply copy it directly into your citations to save yourself some time.
2. RefSeek
Currently in public beta, RefSeek is a pretty solid choice for general research. It takes a more website-based approach, bringing up relevant but highly dependable websites for whatever you want to research. It’s a great way to pull up multiple articles relating to a specific object. For example, if you wanted to learn about computer processors, a search brings up lots of great articles.
RefSeek does more than just searching, however; if you’re studying in a specific field, RefSeek also has a “directory” page which acts as a great directory of useful websites related to education. Once you choose the category you’d like to browse, RefSeek brings up a list of productive sites to help you with your studies.
Tip: to find images, use these specialized image search engines instead.
3. iSeek
iSeek is a powerful tool for finding studies in your area of interest. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly small results list – iSeek displays results in pages of 10, and if you searched for something quite scientifically popular, there’s going to be a lot of pages on the topic. If the sheer amount of results overwhelms you, you have a selection of filters to apply on the left.
Each result comes with a direct link to the source, as well as an option to email results to people. The sources can also be rated out of five stars by other users which can help you locate the more important sources for your research.
4. Virtual LRC
Virtual LRC is an interesting website for research. While it operates mostly like any other engine, the real key to working with Virtual LRC is its filtering ability. There are a few categories at the top of the page after you search; by clicking these, you can filter the results using the category you selected. For example, if you search for “coffee,” you can click on “News/Opinion” for general news articles about coffee, “Health/Medicine” to read about the current positive and negative health effects of coffee, or “History” to learn about how coffee came to be. This makes it quite a diverse engine that can be used to display topics from specific viewpoints.
Study Well, Not Hard
No matter how much you love or hate researching facts, making it an easier task is always welcome. If you’re an avid fact-hunter, these education search engines will serve you well in your studies.
Are one of these your favorite way to search for studies to cite? Do you know of an academic search engine that suits you better? Or does a simple Google search do the trick for you? Let us know below in the comments.
Image credit: Pixabay
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