My Researching Process Essays Example

English

Introduction
While researching the topic, I identified many benefits of both the Google search engine and the IU East library database. Some of the searches in both search engines are more specific while some of them are slightly not specific. However, both searches are effective in various aspects. I also identified reliable sources through both search engines with both smart searches and simple searches. The identified sources have various parts that act as proof of their validity. This paper discusses the variations of using the databases and Google as search engines.
Using Google as search engine has various aspects associated with it. There are benefits or good aspects associated with using Google as a search engine. First, during the research, Google was a simple search engine that provided a variety of scholarly journals and searched for every single word and detail. The capacity of Google to provide a variety of scholarly material is elemental because it enables one to choose the material, journal or article that they deem fit. Additionally, provision of a wide range of information gives one the alternatives of exploring a different article or journals if the one that they initially decide to use is unsatisfactory.
Google also brings up links to news. That is, using Google as a search engine provides suggestions for other relevant information related to the topic or subject being searched. The links for news are also important in various ways. First, the news links provide varying information concerning the topics being searched. Varying information and different perspectives concerning topics being searched increase the understanding of the information. The news links also provide other minor details that contribute to the information being searched. These minor details provide a broad understanding and perspectives of information being searched, which widens the scope of the research.
Google has links to scholarly information that adds to the searches. The scholarly information is important because it enables one to relate the information or topic being searched for information already studied before. As such, the searches from Google have increased validity, reliability and viability by relating to it information researched before. Google can also perform smart searches with a broader spectrum than the library databases. That is; a single search gives information on a wider spectrum of the information. As such, the information on a broader scale diversifies the overall information and provides succinct information.
Google also has some negative aspects about itself. First, sometimes it does not give the exact information being searched. For this reason, one has to use alternative methods of looking for the information, such as searching for information closely related to the information intended. For this reason, the sources found during such instances are sometimes not reliable or valid enough to use as referencing material. Google also lacks citation generators, which requires that one has to use other search engines to generate citations for their sources.
Library databases also have the positive and negative aspects related to it. First, library databases have smart search options. These options are important because they assist in searching for the exact required materials. The smart search widens the scope of research and search by one. The library databases also have a wild card option that allows one to search through the materials in essential and viable manner.
Library databases also promote the search for the scholarly sources only. That is; the scholarly sources promote the validity and reliability of the information being searched on these databases. The scholarly sources also mean that the information being searched is specific, which means that using databases is important and time consuming because unlike in Google, one does not need to search for alternative or related information to have the intended source.
Library databases also have citation generators. These citation generators make it easy for the searchers to reference for all the sources used during the search. The citation generators also make it easy to delete or add useful information on the references of the sources used. However, the library databases limit the search to only specific information. For this reason, one is limited to only the information that he or she is looking for. As such, the information provided is on a narrower scope compared to those of Google. A narrower scope of information limits the understanding and knowledge of information that one is looking for. During my research, I experienced difficulties finding the information related to my topic. That is, library databases unlike Google only have specific information and sources that one can use in research.
My sources were reliable because of various reasons. One of my resources was: Corrigan, P., Markowitz, F. E., Watson, A., Rowan, D., & Kubiak, M. A. (2003). An attribution model of public discrimination towards persons with mental illness. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 162-179. This resource seemed reliable for various reasons. First, the web address used .org, which suggested that the website was reliable and the it was a journal. Second, the author of the source was a Professor of Psychology from 1992 and an investigator for a research facility for stigma. As such, the author has experience in the subject, and it would be creditable to use in the research. The volume of the journal was written in 2003. For this reason, while the information in the source is not recent enough, it is still not out of date and could be used in research, which adds reliability to it.
Another resource that I employed in the study was: Sher, L., & Vilens, A. (2009). Internet and suicide. New York: Nova Science Publishers. This source was reliable for various aspects. First, it encompassed two contributors. The first contributor, Leo Sher is a medical doctor and an executive member of the World Psychiatric Association. The second contributor, Alexander Vilens is highly qualified in science and editor of many books on psychology. For this reason, the qualifications of the contributors make the source reliable.
Another source was: Stull, L. Grace. (2011). Implicit stigma of mental illness: attitudes in an evidence-based practice. This source was reliable because the paper was written with a sole intention of presenting information to the public as evidenced by the .edu site. The author of the source is a psychologist with vast information concerning the subject, making the source reliable.

Conclusion

Google and library databases are search engines with various advantages and disadvantages. They also vary and have similarities concerning the reliability and validity of the sources being used. It is important to understand these similarities and differences in order to determine the type of resource to use at different times. In addition, the knowledge of both search engines is important for the research.