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we find there is correct or good enough to answer our question, but sometimes the information is misleading, out of date, or just plain wrong.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 selecting the tools you'll use to do your research (databases etc.) and your actual materials (books, journals, etc.), ask yourself the following questions to narrow the selection of choices from the start:
For most papers, especially if you started early with your research, you should expect to have:
Good places to look for background info include general reference sources. These are encyclopedias and even websites like Wikipedia (just make sure you don't cite from this source). Remember that Wikipedia is a good starting point but does not serve as a substitute for library resources.
Background information can
