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SOCW 4143 Social Research & Evaluation

Current methods of social research & evaluation with an emphasis on proposal development.

Websites

Resources from the Web

Check out this list of websites to get help with research, and see organizations associated with Social Work.

Always be cautious when using sites from the open internet, and be sure to read websites critically.

How Google Search Works

Figure 1
How Google Search Works

Note. From How Google Search Works (in 5 Minutes), by Google, , YouTube (https://youtu.be/0eKVizvYSUQ). CC BY.

Recommended Websites

Professional Organizations

Read Websites Critically

Anyone can publish anything on the internet.

Use the Spider Method to ensure that your internet sources are appropriate for your research.

Source

Who wrote the information? Is he qualified? If you can’t find an author, you shouldn’t trust the information until you verify it elsewhere.

Purpose

Why does this website exist? Is it intended to sell a product or convince readers of something? Can you detect any bias?

Information

Is the information current? Check for a publication date. If there isn’t one, you need to verify currency with another source.

Domain

Be aware of the host site. Is the domain .edu or .gov? These domains sometimes have more authoritative or reliable information.

Educational

Who is the intended audience? Is there adequate depth to the information? Are you sure it’s not a hoax site or satire?

Reliability

Is the same information available on other websites? Triangulate with other sources to improve the chance of getting complete or accurate information.

Research Librarian