Using the right tool will help you find good sources for your research. Most people are familiar with web search tools like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. While these tools may be familiar, they are not usually the best option for university-level research. The various types of research tools are described below.
Library SearchLibrary Search is located right on the library’s home page. It’s optimized for general research and searches a variety of general academic sources to find all types of information sources. For scientific or technical research, it should be used only as a starting point or to find books. That’s because it does not search the majority of the scientific or technical literature. For more information on how to use library search see our library search user guide.
Web search engines can be used to find just about anything that’s available on-line. Because of their vast scope, it can be extremely difficult to refine your search to just the relevant items. Online sources can also contain misinformation or disinformation, which means that you will need to evaluate ever source you find to make sure it contains legitimate information.
Google Scholar is a specialized web search engine that claims to search only academic or scholarly sources. There are, however, thousands of low quality “academic” journals that are rife with misinformation, disinformation, and outright fraud and they are included in Google Scholar’s results. You will still need to evaluate any sources you find.
For more information on Google Scholar, see our “Getting the Most Out of Google & Google Scholar.”
Research databases are specialized search tools that are search only a carefully curated set of journals, usually limited to a single subject area, like architecture, psychology, engineering, computer technology, etc. They usually have multiple features to help you refine your search and limit your results to the most relevant ones. Most research databases cover journal articles, technical reports, and other research papers, but seldom include books, For more information on research databases, see our research databases guide (https://guides.library.iit.edu/databasetips) or “Going Beyond Google” guide (https://guides.library.iit.edu/beyondgoogle). To find the right research database for your research, use the library’s database A-Z list.
A number of artificial intelligence (AI) tools are now available to help researchers find relevant papers. As of the end of 2024, all of the AI tools are limited in the range and selection of journals they search, often due to exclusive contracts between one AI tool and one publisher. For that reason, it is best to use several AI tools. They also seem to be optimized for finding papers related to one or more papers you have already found. Rather than searching for papers based on a topic or concept. For more information on AI tools see our artificial intelligence guide.
| Library Search | Web Search | Google Scholar | Research Database | Artificial Intelligence | |
| Books | Yes | Yes, but review results | Yes, but review results | No | Yes, but review results |
| Journal Articles | General Topics Only | Use only to find articles by exact title | Yes, but review results | Yes, but choose appropriate database | Yes, but review results |
| Patents | No | No | No | Yes, but choose appropriate database | ?? |
| Research reports | General Topics Only | Use only when you know the exact title | Yes, but review results | Yes, but choose appropriate database | Yes, but review results |
| Web Sites | No | Yes, but review results | No | No | ?? |
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