The internet can be a great place for research. Google is quick and easy to use, links to vast amounts of free and current information, includes government sites, many research organisation, and specialist blogs.
The downside to Google is it does not discriminate and won't give the best results for academic information. Unlike the the Library's resources that are chosen for quality, you'll have to evaluate all information that you find on the Internet before you use it in your assignments.
When evaluating think about:
​Google Search Engine Tools
Searches scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines from journal articles, eBooks to conference papers. Items are ranks by citations. Recent and popular items are often restricted behind Publishers' pay-walls.
Student can use citations found in Google Scholar to search Library Search and access the full text if available.
Provides a sophisticated search interface to retrieve more specific results similar to the functionality of the library databases. You can use search operators (AND, OR, NOT) and other punctuation to get limited resulted rather than the million plus, typical of Google.
You can search within specific domains e.g. .ac.uk or websites: www.gov.uk.
Ad*Access - Ad*Access offers a database of over 7,000 advertisements from American and Canadian newspapers, 1911-1955. It covers five main areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and Hygiene, and World War II, using images from the collection at Duke University. The database is browsable by date, company, product, headline, and keyword, with large searches being conveniently divided into years with the number of hits indicated.
Creative Skill Set - The industry skills body for the Creative Industries. It works across film, television, radio, fashion and textiles, animation, games, visual effects, publishing, advertising and marketing communications. The site has news, blogs, case studies, links to industry organisations, and job role information and opportunities.
History of Advertising Trust (HAT) - The History of Advertising Trust exists to encourage and subsidise the study of advertising and related subjects in the UK. Its archive holds collections of advertising, marketing/retail, media and public relations material from 1800 to the present day. The archive collection includes moving image materials, details of some of which can be traced through the Archive’s catalogue.
UK Television Adverts - Independent site with information on over 2000 advertisements from ITV, Channel 4. Channel 5 and UK based satellite channels from 1996 onwards, a small number of which are streamed (using RealVideo). Its chief aim is to enable searches for actors and actresses appearing in UK ads, but users can search by product as well.
Capturing Reality - This highly detailed website from the National Film Board of Canada brings together interviews with dozens of filmmakers to discuss the art of the documentary, including such major figures as Nick Broomfield, Malcolm Clarke, Werner Herzog and Kim Longinotto. It can be searched by personality or by subject category (such as editing, sound, genre etc).
Creative Skill Set - The industry skills body for the Creative Industries. It works across film, television, radio, fashion and textiles, animation, games, visual effects, publishing, advertising and marketing communications. The site has news, blogs, case studies, links to industry organisations, and job role information and opportunities.
DOCULINK - A community for documentary filmmakers who share information, leads, ideas, and a commitment to support each other’s growth as nonfiction filmmakers.
Hollywood Voices - The section of the growing BBC Archive resource includes 71 audio interviews with stars of the American cinema that were at their peak from the silent days up to the end of the studio system in the 1960s. These range from brief one-minute spippets to in-depth 100-minute interviews. There are also items dedicated to film directors, including Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder, and Oscar-winning lyricist Sammy Cahn.
Numbers - This site is dedicated to reporting up to the minute American box office statistics, presenting them in about a dozen permutations, such as breaking the figures down by day, month, year, leading actor, title (as in most popular film whose title starts with a particular letter) and so on.
SteadiShots.org - Devoted to the art of the steadicam. It focuses in particular on the efforts of the camera operators and their crews. Starting with extracts from 1976 right up to the present day, along with all the relevant clips (there are hundreds) displayed in full, there are commentaries from those who photographed the shots. The site can be searched by production title (including feature films, television shows, commercials and music videos), date and by the name of the camera operator.
The Guardian Film - Online version of The Guardian newspaper’s film section, with reviews, news, features, video releases, web links, and a great many trailers organised alphabetically. Includes ‘Brits in Film’ section on British film personalities.
BBC Journalism Academy - Journalism skills, safety, specialist areas, legal and ethical issues from the BBC Academy. Using hundreds of video and audio examples alongside interactive modules, the site provides masterclasses covering craft skills, law, and ethics & values.
Creative Skill Set - The industry skills body for the Creative Industries. It works across film, television, radio, fashion and textiles, animation, games, visual effects, publishing, advertising and marketing communications. The site has news, blogs, case studies, links to industry organisations, and job role information and opportunities.
Journalism.co.uk - Website offering journalism, digital strategies, PR and social media resources. Search tool for PressGo provides PR alerts and the latest press release. Includes jobseeker tips and advice.
BBC Production Academy - Production skills, tips and know-how using hundreds of video and audio examples alongside interactive modules, the site provides masterclasses covering craft skills, law, and ethics & values. There is also an active discussion forum, and glossary
Creative Skill Set - The industry skills body for the Creative Industries. It works across film, television, radio, fashion and textiles, animation, games, visual effects, publishing, advertising and marketing communications. The site has news, blogs, case studies, links to industry organisations, and job role information and opportunities.
Media Masterclasses - This subsection of Bournemouth University’s YouTube channel includes interviews with leading lights in film and TV production, ranging from such celebrated writers as Alan Plater to controversial media executives like Greg Dyke and Peter Bazelgette as well as the journalist Andrew Marr and the filmmaker Anthony Minghella. Most of the interviews, filmed in front of a live audience, last between 50 and 100 minutes.
Project Muse - Project MUSE is a leading provider of digital humanities and social science content. It includes ebooks and journals.
Researcher’s Guide Online to Screen Heritage (RGO) - The RGO is a database of over 650 film, television, radio and related documentation collections and artefacts in the United Kingdom and Ireland, designed for use by researchers. It covers national and regional archives as well stockshot libraries and collections held by local authorities, museums, institutions of further and higher education, industrial companies and private individuals. Searches by collection title, subject, index term and medium. Each record has live e-mail and weblinks, and the data is regularly updated by the BUFVC’s Information Service.
Sound Bible - Devoted to providing an easily searchable collection of sound effects available for free. Many items are listed as being available through Creative Commons for educational or home use while others are tagged as being ‘Royalty Free’.
Sound effects podcast - Series of podcasts created by a sound designer and musician. Each episode addresses the process involved in the recording of sound and the creation of sound effects, and offering advice. Each podcast includes free sound clips and effects to download
TED: Ideas worth spreading - Enables you to view hundreds of talks and presentations given during TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) events. These focus on themes such as the future of technology, evolution, future predictions, new media and innovative solutions to global problems such as poverty, and conservation.