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When you begin exploring a new research topic, the internet is often a helpful starting point. While online sources are not usually considered scholarly, they can help you get oriented, discover current conversations, and identify ideas worth exploring further.
Blogs, news sites, newsletters, and alert services can be especially useful for:
Begin with a broad search using keywords related to your topic. You might try terms such as:
This kind of exploratory searching can help you see what questions are being asked, what language is commonly used, and which perspectives are shaping the conversation.
Not everything you find online is appropriate to use as evidence in academic research. Learning to evaluate sources is a skill that takes practice.
As you explore, take time to think critically about:
If you'd like support, the library is here to help. For step-by-step guidance, you can:
Blogs can be a valuable way to explore trending issues, current events, emerging research, and ongoing debates in a subject area. While blogs are not usually considered scholarly sources, they can be especially helpful when you are starting a project or trying to understand what people in the field are talking about right now.
Blog authors come from many different backgrounds, including:
Reading blogs written by experts or reputable organizations can help you:
These insights can guide you toward stronger search terms and more focused research questions.
Many popular and news magazines also publish blogs alongside their articles. These blog posts often offer timely commentary and accessible explanations of complex ideas.
For example, Psychology Today hosts a large collection of blogs and clearly lists each blogger's credentials. This makes it easier for you to understand the author's background, perspective, and expertise.
Part of the research process is learning how to evaluate sources thoughtfully. Blogs are most useful when you use them to:
If you're unsure whether a blog is appropriate for your assignment, that's completely normal — and the library can help you decide.
You can also search for blogs using Nexis Uni:
This allows you to quickly find blog content related to your topic from a wide range of sources.
Another great resource for searching blogs is Nexis Uni. On the home page, select News and conduct a search using your keyword or phrase. On the search results screen, you may filter Publication Type to Blog, as shown below:
Research news websites can be a helpful way to learn about the latest developments across many fields. These sites are especially useful for staying current, discovering potentially interesting topics, and getting a sense of where research in a particular discipline is headed.
Searching for terms like research news can help you find headlines about recently published studies and emerging areas of inquiry — a great way to build background knowledge and identify ideas to explore further.
Research news articles are not typically sources you will cite in academic work, but they can be very useful for:
As with all online information, it's important to think critically about what you're reading and to follow up with scholarly sources when needed. If you're unsure how to move from a news headline to academic research, the library is here to help — and asking questions is always part of the research process.
Visit the Ask Us page or use the chat in the lower-right corner.
Popular news sources and magazines can be useful for learning about current trends, emerging research, and timely issues across many fields. These sources often report on research in ways accessible to a general audience, helping you understand why a topic matters right now.
News outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Chronicle of Higher Education regularly cover new studies, policy developments, and research-related topics of broad interest.
While news articles themselves are not usually sources you will cite in academic work, they can point you to the original research behind the story. To learn more, try:
Once you have this information, you can:
Learning when and how to use popular sources is an important part of the research process. Review the Academic and Popular Sources page to better understand how to use these resources in your academic research.
Controversial topics and debates are useful for learning about different perspectives on the same issue. For a general internet search, try the keyword phrase policy debate to find trending topics in the news or from policy institutes.
ProCon.org presents articles on current debates in the news and society. This site is directed toward students and educators.
News feeds and alerts are extremely useful for locating recently published research in a subject area. Subscribing to feeds helps you stay up to date on what is being published in a specific field without having to check multiple websites manually.
A simple way to organize and streamline this information is to use an RSS feed reader — a tool that gathers content from multiple websites and displays it in one place. Feedly is a popular free option that lets you follow websites, blogs, and news sources in a single, organized feed, available on the web and as a mobile app.
Several websites also offer alert services for news and journal content:
With so many resources available, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the volume of content delivered daily. It is generally best to skim broadly when you are first exploring a topic, then limit yourself to one or two key feeds or alert services once you have identified a specific research focus.
Open access resources can be invaluable for exploring your topic. These are freely available documents published by professional and trade associations, government agencies, non-profit organizations, research institutes, universities, and other entities.
Because they are not proprietary, open access resources do not require a login or subscription — though occasionally a for-profit association may ask you to create a free account to access their publications.
These sources are especially useful for finding:
NU Library maintains a curated collection of open access links organized by NU disciplines, specializations, and related academic topics. Visit the Open Access Resources Guide for recommended sites.
Wikipedia and other online wiki sources can be helpful for finding background information on a topic and generating ideas for keywords and search phrases. However, they should never be used as a cited reference in academic research.
These sites are most useful for:
When a Wikipedia article includes references, those citations can point you toward academic books and journals worth exploring further.
Not all Wikipedia articles are equally reliable. As an example, the article on Mirror Symmetry includes extensive references from academic books and journals. It is also designated as a Featured Article by Wikipedia, meaning it meets specific quality criteria including supporting all major claims with citations.
When using Wikipedia, look for articles that are well-cited and, where possible, carry a Featured Article or Good Article designation — these are more likely to point you toward reliable scholarly sources.
