Starting with the Internet is NOT necessarily a bad move. Often the information we find there is correct or good enough to answer our question, but sometimes the information is misleading, out of date, or just plain wrong.
Even when the information is correct, it often won't be adequate for the kinds of papers and projects your professors require of you in college. You may need scholarly resources, with citations and bibliographies. These are often research, or evidence-based articles.
One simple solution is to understand the research process--the steps you should take to get what you need and get on with your life.
When Google unleashes 500,000 hits on your topic, can you find the five that will really set your paper apart?
Photo Credit: Cambodia4kidsorg. Slide24. CC-BY 2.0. Retrieved from Flickr and adapted 4/27/2012
How do you start your research?