Why use library databases instead of just googling?

While it is possible to find legitimate sources of research through googling or using other web search engines, the truth is that doing so doesn't make the student's life easier! Yes, at first it is more comfortable to google because it's a familiar tool whereas library databases are foreign countries. However, when it comes to finding legitimate sources and then documenting them on a works cited page, random internet searching becomes a student's worst nightmare.

First, most students don't know what makes a source legitimate; they will use anything that looks good and says what they want to hear. But anyone can post stuff on the web that sounds legit. Here's a question: Would you ask a stranger on the street what to feed your newborn? No way. But if you want more information on global warming, too often you might just look at the first ten entries on a search engine and call that fact. The point of using library databases for legitimate research is that the articles' authors have somebody holding them accountable; a newpaper or magazine has a reputation to uphold, and better yet, a scholarly journal's article is peer reviewed by other experts in the author's field. So, if you use a source from a library database, you know your teacher will be fine with it.

Second, most library databases give you the correct citation for the source! WOW! The database will have a "cite this" or "citation" link next to your article. Set it on MLA or APA or whatever citation method is required, click, and BLAM! it gives you the citation. Then you can highlight it, copy it (press control + C), go to your works cited page, paste it (control + V), and you've saved yourself a ton of headache. If you googled your sources, citing them correctly is difficult because you must find the author if it has one, the title, the website title, the sponsor, and the date posted. There is no consistency of documentation on the web and most students have no idea how to document sources anyway, so they botch their works cited page and run the risk of flunking the class due to plagiarism.