Case Study

Based on the concept of a general internet search, explain how these three results demonstrate the direct and indirect ways this search strategy can lead a researcher to formal research literature.

Case context: A student, Alex, is researching the effect of screen time on children's attention spans. Alex performs a general internet search using a standard web search engine. The search yields three main results: a peer-reviewed article in an open-access journal, a paper uploaded to a researcher's personal academic website, and an educational blog post that contains a list of references to formal research articles.

Question: Based on the concept of a general internet search, explain how these three results demonstrate the direct and indirect ways this search strategy can lead a researcher to formal research literature.

Sample answer: Alex's search results demonstrate direct pathways to formal literature through the open-access journal article and the publication hosted on the researcher's personal website. The search also demonstrates an indirect pathway by uncovering the non-scholarly blog post, which provides references to formal research literature.

Key points:

  • Direct access to open-access journal articles.
  • Direct access to publications hosted on researchers' personal websites.
  • Indirect access via non-scholarly websites that provide references to formal research.

Rubric: The explanation must correctly distinguish between direct sources of academic literature (open-access journal articles and publications on researchers' personal websites) and indirect sources (non-scholarly websites that provide references to formal literature).

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Updated 2026-05-27

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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU

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