- For pupils and students
who wish to carry out reliable research
on the internet. -
How to carry out research on the internet :
The internet is a place where you can instantly find information that previously could only be obtained through lengthy research in libraries. However, this convenience comes at a price, linked to the opportunity to find just about anything and... anything at all. Indeed, the freedom of expression afforded by the internet means that anyone can share their actual knowledge, as well as their beliefs—whether proven or not—or simply spread false or incomplete information for personal gain, often financial.
Forums, which are meant to be sources of mutual support, are not immune to errors when the answer to a specific question begins with: ‘I think that…’ or ‘in my opinion…’, without being backed up by solid references.
The same applies to commercial websites, whose financial interests tip the balance in favour of sales, to the detriment of objective reality.
So, where can these reliable sources be found, and how do we find them ?
The aim of this page is to suggest avenues that everyone can build upon to arrive at the most credible results.
It is, of course, to French-speaking readers that we will provide solutions here, though everyone is free to adapt these solutions into the language of their choice.
I shall not dwell on Wikipedia, as everyone has had the opportunity to make use of its database and judge its reliability for themselves.
As for students who cannot devote as much time to a subject as an investigative journalist, their research must be guided by three key considerations :
- Speed of access,
- Conciseness,
- Reliability.
These students must, moreover, possess an essential quality : critical thinking.
Speed :
This is a hallmark of the internet, which allows rapid and constant access to the most up-to-date information. But is this information reliable ? We have seen that not all available sources can be trusted. Which ones should we choose ?
Conciseness :
For this purpose, journals whose articles are written by researchers are irreplaceable: reliable, the information is constantly evolving in line with new knowledge. In this case, there is no place for discoveries from past centuries which, whilst remaining part of the history of discoveries, are no longer part of current knowledge. Thus, the Earth is no longer the centre of the universe.
In France, we can mention journals such as: La Recherche, Pour la science, Sciences humaines, Cerveau et psycho... and find, at the end of each article, the essential sources.
Other popular science magazines are run by equally competent science journalists. These include: *Science et Avenir*, *Science et Vie*, *Le Monde des religions*...
Each of these periodicals can be found online :
www.larecherche.fr (version française du scientific american)
www.scienceshumaines.com
www.cerveauetpsycho.fr (neurosciences)
www.sciencesetavenir.fr
www.science-et-vie.com
www.lemondedesreligions.fr
However, searches may lead to older material which, although out of date, retains its historical value. To do this, visit :
http://archives.science-et-vie.com
How do you carry out a search? Simply by entering the name of the magazine and the search term into the search engine. For example :
« La Recherche : God and Science »
« Science et Vie : dream and science »
If the journal’s website does not appear on the page suggested by the search engine, you may need to enter its web address (URL) into the search engine, which will then target the subject you are looking for on the site itself :
« www.larecherche.fr :origin of the universe »
Reliability :
Scientific research websites are essential : CNRS, CEA, INSERM and others...
In France, they can be found at the following addresses :
http://www.science.ca/researchcentres.php?-lang=fr
Why focus on research centres ?
The very nature of research is that it is constantly evolving.
Our ancestors, who travelled little, were under the illusion that the Earth was flat, bounded by the horizon and a vast ocean [cf : Anaximandre]. Travel fostered discoveries and pushed back the horizon until, one day, the truth became clear: the Earth is round. Yet even today, certain religions, unable to question ancient beliefs they consider to be of divine origin, continue to assert their convictions. This is not the case with scientific research: each new discovery builds upon and refines, or conversely renders obsolete, the previous one.
Only institutions that are willing to let go of certainties and constantly update their knowledge deserve our trust.
With this in mind, avoid confusing, for example, science and esotericism, or objective information and commercial information.
Here again, it is essential to include the institution’s acronym alongside the subject of the research :
« CNRS age of the Universe »
If the article is too long for the desired answer, try searching the text using the key combination : CTRL+F « age », and the answer appears as if by magic : 13.77 billion years.
In the student domain, the institution code to be entered is : univ for « university »
Example : « univ fractals »
In the medical domain, the institution code to be entered is : who for « World Health Organization »
Exemple : « who : what is diabetes ? ».
This then takes you, for example, to the page :
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
You can also use : nih for « National Institutes of Health »
Exemple : « nih : what is diabetes ? ».
This then takes you, for example, to the page :
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes
On such sites, you will notice that advertisements are very limited, or even non-existent, ensuring that you are not led down the wrong track.
Some sites, such as that of McGill University (Canada), are a wealth of informations :
« mcgill university » or simply « mcgill ».
Critical thinking :
Finally, let us not forget the most important thing: knowing how to think critically. Before being used, all information must be cross-checked against information from other sources, and all of it must be consistent.
Finally, to conduct research worthy of the name, we cannot automatically dismiss information we find disagreeable simply because it contradicts what we believe in good faith.
Indeed, whilst consciousness results from sifting through information to retain only the most relevant, it also stems from the ability to recognise the value of all of it [cf : L'édifice de la conscience]
I wish you all exciting discoveries.
R. Jisse.
PS : As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important in internet searches, learn to use it by getting to know it whilst avoiding its pitfalls :
AI - From information to disinformation :
Forums, which are meant to be sources of mutual support, are not immune to errors when the answer to a specific question begins with: ‘I think that…’ or ‘in my opinion…’, without being backed up by solid references.
The same applies to commercial websites, whose financial interests tip the balance in favour of sales, to the detriment of objective reality.
So, where can these reliable sources be found, and how do we find them ?
The aim of this page is to suggest avenues that everyone can build upon to arrive at the most credible results.
It is, of course, to French-speaking readers that we will provide solutions here, though everyone is free to adapt these solutions into the language of their choice.
I shall not dwell on Wikipedia, as everyone has had the opportunity to make use of its database and judge its reliability for themselves.
As for students who cannot devote as much time to a subject as an investigative journalist, their research must be guided by three key considerations :
- Speed of access,
- Conciseness,
- Reliability.
These students must, moreover, possess an essential quality : critical thinking.
Speed :
This is a hallmark of the internet, which allows rapid and constant access to the most up-to-date information. But is this information reliable ? We have seen that not all available sources can be trusted. Which ones should we choose ?
Conciseness :
For this purpose, journals whose articles are written by researchers are irreplaceable: reliable, the information is constantly evolving in line with new knowledge. In this case, there is no place for discoveries from past centuries which, whilst remaining part of the history of discoveries, are no longer part of current knowledge. Thus, the Earth is no longer the centre of the universe.
In France, we can mention journals such as: La Recherche, Pour la science, Sciences humaines, Cerveau et psycho... and find, at the end of each article, the essential sources.
Other popular science magazines are run by equally competent science journalists. These include: *Science et Avenir*, *Science et Vie*, *Le Monde des religions*...
Each of these periodicals can be found online :
www.larecherche.fr (version française du scientific american)
www.scienceshumaines.com
www.cerveauetpsycho.fr (neurosciences)
www.sciencesetavenir.fr
www.science-et-vie.com
www.lemondedesreligions.fr
However, searches may lead to older material which, although out of date, retains its historical value. To do this, visit :
http://archives.science-et-vie.com
How do you carry out a search? Simply by entering the name of the magazine and the search term into the search engine. For example :
« La Recherche : God and Science »
« Science et Vie : dream and science »
If the journal’s website does not appear on the page suggested by the search engine, you may need to enter its web address (URL) into the search engine, which will then target the subject you are looking for on the site itself :
« www.larecherche.fr :origin of the universe »
Reliability :
Scientific research websites are essential : CNRS, CEA, INSERM and others...
In France, they can be found at the following addresses :
http://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.frCanadian research centres with information available in French :
http://eduscol.education.fr/svt/se-former/actualiser-et-approfondir-ses-connaissances/les-grandes-institutions-scientifiques.html
https://www.ird.fr
http://www1.univ-ag.fr/aoc/liens/organismes.html
http://www.cnrs.fr/derci/spip.php?article167
https://www.canalacademie.com
http://www.science.ca/researchcentres.php?-lang=fr
Why focus on research centres ?
The very nature of research is that it is constantly evolving.
Our ancestors, who travelled little, were under the illusion that the Earth was flat, bounded by the horizon and a vast ocean [cf : Anaximandre]. Travel fostered discoveries and pushed back the horizon until, one day, the truth became clear: the Earth is round. Yet even today, certain religions, unable to question ancient beliefs they consider to be of divine origin, continue to assert their convictions. This is not the case with scientific research: each new discovery builds upon and refines, or conversely renders obsolete, the previous one.
Only institutions that are willing to let go of certainties and constantly update their knowledge deserve our trust.
With this in mind, avoid confusing, for example, science and esotericism, or objective information and commercial information.
Here again, it is essential to include the institution’s acronym alongside the subject of the research :
« CNRS age of the Universe »
If the article is too long for the desired answer, try searching the text using the key combination : CTRL+F « age », and the answer appears as if by magic : 13.77 billion years.
In the student domain, the institution code to be entered is : univ for « university »
Example : « univ fractals »
In the medical domain, the institution code to be entered is : who for « World Health Organization »
Exemple : « who : what is diabetes ? ».
This then takes you, for example, to the page :
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
You can also use : nih for « National Institutes of Health »
Exemple : « nih : what is diabetes ? ».
This then takes you, for example, to the page :
https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes
On such sites, you will notice that advertisements are very limited, or even non-existent, ensuring that you are not led down the wrong track.
Some sites, such as that of McGill University (Canada), are a wealth of informations :
« mcgill university » or simply « mcgill ».
Critical thinking :
Finally, let us not forget the most important thing: knowing how to think critically. Before being used, all information must be cross-checked against information from other sources, and all of it must be consistent.
Finally, to conduct research worthy of the name, we cannot automatically dismiss information we find disagreeable simply because it contradicts what we believe in good faith.
Indeed, whilst consciousness results from sifting through information to retain only the most relevant, it also stems from the ability to recognise the value of all of it [cf : L'édifice de la conscience]
I wish you all exciting discoveries.
R. Jisse.
PS : As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly important in internet searches, learn to use it by getting to know it whilst avoiding its pitfalls :
AI - From information to disinformation :
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