Education and Leadership › Women’s Academy › Digital Literacy › Online Research Skills › Course Materials
Online research is more than just googling: it means finding academic sources, judging their reliability, taking notes, citing correctly and writing a report. These skills are the foundation of success at university and in analytical work.
Course page on the learning platform
Course details
| Level | Intermediate |
| Estimated duration | 10 hours of study and practice |
| Prerequisite | The course “Computer and Internet Basics” |
| Language of instruction | Farsi-e-Dari (with key English terms) |
| Fee | Free |
| Assessment | A quiz after each section and a final exam; pass mark 70%; certificate after approval by the Academy |
After this course you will be able to
- Write a clear, answerable research question
- Find academic sources in Google Scholar and open libraries
- Judge the reliability of a source using academic criteria
- Cite sources in a standard style (APA)
- Write a short, well-structured research report
Course outline
- From topic to question
- Scope
- Keywords
- Google Scholar
- Open libraries
- Advanced operators
- Reliability criteria
- Primary and secondary sources
- Peer review
- Summary and quotation
- APA style
- Reference management tools
- Report structure
- Evidence-based conclusions
- Avoiding plagiarism
Week-by-week learning path
With about 30 to 45 minutes of study and practice a day, you will finish this course in 6 weeks:
| Week | Topic | Weekly output |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | The research question | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 2 | Searching | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 3 | Evaluating sources | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 4 | Notes and citation | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 5 | Writing the report | Lessons, practical exercise and short section quiz |
| Week 6 | Final project and final exam | Completed project and a score of 70% or more |
Final project
A 1,000-word research report on a specific question, with at least six reliable sources, a source evaluation table and a reference list in APA style.
Project assessment criteria:
- A clear, focused question
- Quality and variety of sources
- Correct citation
- Evidence-based conclusions
Key course terms
Research question
Primary source
Peer review
Citation
Bibliography
Plagiarism
Abstract
Evidence
Assessment and certificate
- After each section: a short quiz (70% recommended before moving on)
- Practical exercises in each lesson are for learning; use Questions to send your questions
- End of course: final exam (pass mark 70%) and submission of the final project
- Digital certificate after review and approval by the Academy: Request a certificate
Teaching method
Each lesson includes learning objectives, explanations with real examples and images, key terms in Dari and English, common mistakes, a practical exercise, a self-test and a summary. In every lesson you can use the Questions button to ask the teacher questions. The courses are impartial, free and open to all young people.
Get ready now
- Review lessons 3.2 and 3.3 of the basics course
- Choose a topic you are interested in researching
- Open Google Scholar and try a search
Free, reliable resources
These resources were selected by the Academy team. Most are in English; Chrome’s Translate feature can help if needed. Large files (books, exercise files, videos) will be placed in the Academy’s official Google Drive folder when the course goes live, and linked from this page.
- Darakht-e Danesh Library, free learning resources in Dari, Pashto and English
- OpenLearn – The Open University, hundreds of free short courses with a certificate of participation
- Khan Academy, free lessons in mathematics, science and economics
- edX, free courses from universities such as Harvard and MIT
Help and questions
Questions about this course: [email protected] · All courses: Online Learning Centre · Active course: Computer and Internet Basics
Women’s Academy, Afghanistan Youth Parliament · Free and open to all young people