Help:Find sources: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 10:47, 4 August 2024

Latest revision as of 14:48, 26 July 2025

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*[[DuckDuckGo]] or other general [[search engines]] are effective for finding online sources in particular, but can also be used for some other kinds of sources depending on the topic area. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBV9HsPKXi0&list=PLF2KCgTC6mbQX8Creoyl4jI8q-xeyfcyj&index=2 <!-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WbRIjTRj2U --> This video] outlines the fundamentals of "advanced search" techniques.

**[[GoogleWikipedia:Advanced source searching#Custom Searchsearch engines|GoogleWikipedia editors have Customcreated custom Google Searchsearch engines]] canto help to efficiently find sources on certain websites that some Wikipedia editors have determined are generally more reliable, overall. Because these searches only includes returns from a pre-determined list of candidates it could miss many others possible sources.

***[[Wikipedia:Advanced source searching#Custom search engines]] provides a table of the custom search engines created for Wikipedians

*Several [[academic search engines|general search engines]] exist for more academic material, particularly scholarly articles, although some content will be behind a paywall: examples are [[Google Scholar]], [[BASE (search engine)|BASE]] and the [[Internet Archive]]'s https://scholar.archive.org/ . [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJH6MfuZs7s This longer video] outlines the use of some Google Scholar features.

*[[Internet Archive]] and [[Google Books]] index millions of books, both academic and popular; however, not all will be available in full text.

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**Several publishers make multiple editions of their books available through Google Books. Sometimes, Google initially returns a link only to the e-book edition, but that edition may include links to alternate hardcover or softcover editions which do have original pagination. Google Books limits previews of copyrighted books to a certain number of pages. It is possible to jump ahead to exhaust that number from a later starting page by editing the browser URL. For example, adding "&pg=PA100" will usually jump to page 100. [[WP:GBOOKS]] explains how to cite sources found through Google Books.

**Installing the [[Unpaywall]] extension on your browser helps you find the full text of the articles wherever you found them.

* [[WorldCat]] has millions of books and journal articles, and if you register for a free account, it will show you the closest libraries to you that have the source you are looking for. Some books and articles are available in full-text versions which you can view or borrow online.

*Public or research libraries have both books and research databases, covering a wide variety of subject areas. [[WP:FYL|Find yours]].

*See if any [[WP:TWL/Resources|free resources]] cover the topic area

**[[Wikipedia:Free English newspaper sources]] (WP:FENS) provides a list of text-searchable, free (no-pay, non-subscription/-membership/-login) online English newspaper sources.

** [https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=a0a45496e245345f5#gsc.tab=0&gsc.sort= Search engine of free reliable sources] ([[User:Superb Owl/Reliable Source Engine|project]])

*[[WP:TWL|The Wikipedia Library]] is an initiative to help Wikipedians get access to subscription or paid sources to improve Wikipedia articles. Editors can [[Wikipedia:The Wikipedia Library/Journals|apply for access to databases]], [[WP:RX|request specific sources]], or [[WP:RD|request help with research]].

*Bibliographies on a topic outline the main scholarly sources in a subject area and provide a good starting point, where they are available.