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Physical Therapist Assistant

Direct comments to kmentzer@nvcc.edu

Need Help?

 

For individual research help, schedule an appointment to meet with a librarian.

Useful Links

Health Statistics

NOTE: Many government and organizational websites include statistical information and/or other research.

How to Evaluate Websites - Quick Tips

 

Evaluate websites that have information you would like to use in your assignments. 

Look on each website for an "About Us" page to answer some of the following questions:

  • Who is the author?        
  • What are his/her qualifications?
  • Why was the website created?
  • When was it last updated?
  • How reliable is the information?

Learn More About How to Evaluate Websites

Better Googling

Google logo with checkmark

("climate change" OR "global warming") AND sea level site:.gov

174,000 results

 

 

Google logo with X mark

How does climate change affect sea level?

3,150,000 results



Here's how to craft a better search to get fewer and more relevant results:

  • Identify the main ideas in your research question.
          How does climate change affect sea level?

  • Connect the main ideas with AND.
          climate change AND sea level

  • Use quotation marks around 2 or more words that need to be together.
          "climate change" AND "sea level"

  • Use OR between synonyms/related terms.
          ("climate change" OR "global warming") AND sea level

  • Limit your search to a specific domain, such as .edu, .gov, or .org.
          ("climate change" OR "global warming") AND sea level site:.gov

More information on advanced Google searching and Google Scholar.

Wikipedia and Academic Research

   

How Wikipedia CAN be useful in the beginning stages of research:

Check mark A basic overview of your topic.
Check mark Important names, vocabulary and keywords related to your topic.
Check mark Table of contents for some entries, helping you to understand how your topic can be organized.
Check mark

References and other websites that may be helpful (though you will need to evaluate them to be sure).

Why NOT to use Wikipedia for academic research:

X  The accuracy and authority of a Wikipedia article cannot be verified.