Searching online journal databases is perhaps the best way to use the Internet to do social science research. If your school or institution provides you with access to journal databases like JSTOR pr EBSCOhost, you can search journal abstracts and full-length articles using keywords that match your topic. If you do not have access to these pay sites, you can use free journal databases like JournalSeek.
One of the best ways to use the Internet for social science research is Google Scholar. The site works just like a regular Google search, but it crawls only journal articles rather than the entire Internet. Using the advanced search options, you can define which journal titles, authors, and subjects to search, among other criteria. Some of the results may require login information from your institution or a pay-per-view/subscription fee, while other journal titles are freely available on the Internet.
If you require primary documents or information for your research, you can use the websites of government, corporate, or other official entities. Your instructor will indicate whether websites are acceptable sources or not. If allowed, the best online resources are those that come from official sources, like a government department, or those that can be verified by other sources. Avoid websites without date or author information, and those that are unaffiliated with a recognized institution.