Getting Started
Choosing and Using Current Research
When reviewing research and current thinking on a topic, consider whose voice is centered in the research? Have you ensured that the reading you are doing includes voices from diverse racial backgrounds and isn’t all centered on peer-reviewed articles?
Suggested Resources
- As part of the University of Washington (UW), we have access to current research through the UW libraries. We encourage you to use the library system and access the many outside resources and publications the library provides access to. Your UW NetID provides this access. To visit the library in person, you will need your Husky Card. In addition, see a list of preferred terms and language at UW’s Editorial Webpage
- Use the Cultivate Learning’s resource library in the office, and borrow books.
- Prioritize websites that are not commercial products (.org, .edu)
- For example: zerotothree.org, library.educause.edu, challengingbehavior.org, etc.
- Review professional organization publications.
- Use caution when using Wikipedia. Wikipedia is generally not considered reliable for research-based work. However, it can give you a list of original sources to explore if the entry has been properly documented. Please also refer to Wikipedia: Citing Wikipedia for more information.
- Microsoft Copilot can be a good AI-powered options for finding sources.
- CoPilot is designed to provide responses based on real-time web content using Bing search. It provides clickable citations and a “Show all” button to see references.
- Copilot is free and enterprise mode is protected on our UW work computers.
- A simple prompt you can use to find varied, inclusive results is: “Provide a summary of research and current thinking on [topic name], including insights and perspectives from diverse racial backgrounds and sources beyond traditional peer-reviewed articles. Please list your sources.