For your research project you may use sources such as books, magazines, scholarly papers, newspaper articles, and the Internet. Books, magazines, newspapers, and academic papers have been edited before they are published. This means that the writing has been checked for grammatical and spelling errors, but it also means that the content has been reviewed to make sure that the information is valid. It means that facts have been verified and/or that the author is an expert who is qualified to write on the given topic.
This is not true for information found on the web. Anyone can publish a web page. Many web pages look professional and polished but that doesn't guaranteed that the author is qualified nor does it guarantee that the information is correct. Many web pages are written by people who are not experts on the topic which the page covers. Other pages are biased: they are written to convince you to buy something or to believe the position advocated by the author. When using sources from the web, you must do the work that editors do for other sources: investigate the page to make sure it's a credible source that you can use for your research. You don't want to base your research on a web page written by someone who is unqualified, and you don't want to base your research on a web page that is biased and not giving the full story about your topic.
This is the reason that you cannot use any wiki sites for your research. Wikipedia is a great resource for getting an idea about a topic, and many of the pages contain excellent information. However, since anyone can edit wikipedia, there is no guarantee that the information is correct, complete, and unbiased. While wikipedia is very useful to get an overview of your topic, you cannot use it as a source.
The MCC Library has a lot of information that you can access from home. You can access the catalog, you can search databases, and frequently you can download copies of articles. To access ebooks and databases from home, use the following instructions for logging in: Off-Campus Access to Library Databases and Ebooks.
The Librarians have prepared some subject guides which direct you to the best resources for a specific subject. For your project you should look at the Computer Science Subject Guide. Depending on your topic you may also find helpful sources in the Controversial Issues Subject Guide.
There are many useful resources in the library databases, which you can access from the Library Databases Page.
You can get Help with Searching. This will help you do an effective database search so that you can find pertinent information on your topic.
You can also contact a librarian directly for help. On this page you will see options for calling, texting, and chatting online with a librarian (when the library is open). You can also schedule a one-on-one session with a librarian. This gives you up to 30 minutes of individual help from a librarian and allows the librarian to prepare for the session because you will tell him/her your topic in advance.
Here are some guides to help you learn how to determine whether a web site is credible. Read these pages and watch the videos before you start doing research on the web.
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