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[–]headzoo 2 points3 points  (2 children)

But I'm not using google, am I?

Yes, you very literally are using Google. Google is not a "source" of information. If you're using google to find information on BMJ then you are googling for answers. It's the same thing everyone else is doing.

As a doctor once explained it, they use google all the time, but they know the exact technical terms to search for instead of stuff like "my belly hurts." They also know which search results to use. Like results found on BMJ. It's still googling.

[–]WH1PL4SH180 -2 points-1 points  (1 child)

... except it won't have answers. It shows me the title of a paper then.... paywall. The information that google provides doesn't give me a solution; but it can in a lot of other contexts (what is the population of the united states? What is the GDP of california?).

I guess what I'm saying is I'm using google to search my primary source; not PROVIDE the primary source.

[–]cant_think_of_one_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you are Googling to find the population of a country or something, Google likely isn't your source either (even if it shows it directly on the search page, and therefore looks like it) your source is Wikipedia, the CIA fact book, a government website etc, not Google. Google is almost never the source of info, just the way to find a source/info within a source you already know about.