Web Research FOUNDATIONS
How source-linked web research works: judging sources, recording findings to a schema, and research integrity.
Counts towards Data Collection Foundations certification: 8 courses required.
Course Fee
Overview
Start your Web Research journey.
AI systems need facts they can stand behind, and companies need market pictures they can act on. Both are built from structured research: a row per entity, a field per question, a source link per answer.
No camera, no microphone, no device gate. What earns acceptance is careful reading, and one invented citation ends a research career, because the evidence never decays.
This course covers finding and judging sources: primary against secondary, which source wins when they disagree, and where answers actually live, from company registers and filings to statistics, laws and standards. It covers recording findings to a schema with deep links and verbatim locators; the discipline of saying "not found" instead of guessing, which is the difference between a researcher and a liability; and the awkward rows where every value is factually correct and the row still fails. It is the most exercise-dense course in the programme, with auto-marked drills against real source types and a research task on real websites. Around 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, self-paced; the free Data Collection Basics first is recommended.
One of the eight courses of the Data Collection Foundations certification programme: pass all eight to become a Certified Data Collector. Available on its own or under the programme fee; certificate included on passing.
What You Get
What's included in your training
Structured Learning Modules
Learn at your own pace through structured modules on the DeeLab Academy learning platform.
Self-Paced Schedule
No fixed schedule. Start when you want, finish at your own pace.
Knowledge Checks
Worked examples and per-unit practice quizzes with instant feedback, plus a final knowledge assessment on the e-learning platform (80% to pass).
Certificate Included
Your verifiable certificate for this course is included in the programme price, issued once you pass the final assessment.
Outline
What you'll learn
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Web Research Projects
What structured, source-linked research is and who buys it.
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Finding and Judging Sources
How source hierarchies resolve conflicts, and which sources are permitted.
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Recording Findings to Specification
What schemas, deep links, and verbatim locators require.
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Accuracy, Rights and Integrity
Why fabricated facts and sources end research careers.
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Judging Research Submissions
What the research rejection catalogue contains, and how self-review prevents it.
Counts toward the Data Collection Foundations (DCF) certification programme.
How it works
From enrolling to certified
1
Learn at your own pace
Start the moment you enrol and work through the material in your own time. There is no cohort to wait for and no fixed schedule to keep up with.
2
Pass the assessment
The course ends with a graded assessment you take when you are ready. The result is what counts, not how long you took.
3
Receive your certificate
Issued within one week of passing, with a public verification page anyone can check.
Two ways in
This course, or the whole programme
Just this course
Web Research Foundations
One course, with its certificate when you pass.
at your own pace
Best value
The full Data Collection Foundations
All 8 courses, and the programme certificate at the end.
the courses one at a time
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about this course.
Most learners finish in 45 minutes to 1.5 hours, self-paced. Each of the five units has reading and a practice quiz with instant feedback, and interactive exercises run throughout the course. The final knowledge assessment has an 80% pass mark. You can retake it as many times as you need, with 24 hours between attempts, and your highest score counts.
It's designed for beginners whose strongest skill is careful reading. No AI knowledge, no research qualification, and no special equipment are required. A computer and an internet connection are the whole kit, which makes this the most accessible course in the track. Data Collection Basics is the recommended starting point, but this course doesn't assume it.
Being paid to find specific facts, verify them, and record them in a structured form with a link back to where each one came from. That covers company and product details, prices, regulations, contact records, and the sourced facts AI systems are checked against. It is not writing articles and it is not summarising: buyers want rows they can load into a database, each one traceable.
Reading, interactive scenario exercises, and knowledge checks on the e-learning platform. It teaches the conventions of research collection: source hierarchies and conflicts, permissions, recording findings to a schema with deep links and verbatim locators, integrity rules, and how reviewers decide. There are no research assignments marked by DeeLab, no portfolio to build, and nothing to submit.
The course teaches you to read each project's rules, because they vary and some prohibit it outright. The constant is that you are responsible for every fact and every link you submit, and a chatbot that invents a plausible source will end your account when the reviewer clicks it. Fabricated facts and fabricated sources are the one mistake this field never forgives, which is exactly why human-verified, link-backed research is what buyers are paying for.
The other Data Collection Foundations courses are the natural next step; each is available on its own, or the programme fee covers them all. Text Collection Foundations is the closest companion: this course is about finding and verifying what already exists, that one is about producing text (transcription, translation, authored copy). Conversational AI Data Foundations and Human Feedback Foundations are the other desk-based courses, so they suit the same strengths. You can also record your completed courses, languages and availability in the freelance and gig work section of your trainee profile, which is what DeeLab looks at when a research project needs contributors.
Yes. The certificate is included in the course fee and is issued automatically once you pass the final assessment and leave your course feedback, and in any case within a week of passing. Pass all eight Data Collection courses and the programme certificate, the Certified Data Collector award, follows automatically as well.
You have three months to complete the course, counted from the day you sign up. Within that window it is entirely self-paced and always open; your progress is saved automatically and you can return whenever suits you.