My son once wrote an earnest elementary-school paper about alien visitors based completely on Internet research. (I hasten to add that I was out of town when this happened.) Before shrugging off his childish online trust, note that even adult readers and authors have been misled by online sources. Internet research is convenient -- with seemingly every publisher, research outfit and news organization offering digital access today -- but information-highway riders must be wary. Yes, you can type in a search phrase and scroll through a trove of information sources, but those search findings are a Pandora's Box. Consider Wikipedia, which often tops the list of online search results. Wikipedia is a great starting point, but it is not an online research bible; it is an "open source"encyclopedia where non-experts may edit articles and even insert inaccurate information. Also be aware that when popular community information sites (ask.com or WebMD, for example) collect articles from outside sources, they may unintentionally include unreliable data or data interpretations. And, hopefully, even a neophyte web surfer knows that a blog or social media post can be opinion without any basis in fact. So how do you find reliable online information? First of all, beware single-source, dated, excerpted and/or unattributed information. Remain skeptical of "scientific" findings based on unexplained methodology, culled from tiny or non-random samples, contradicted by many other reputable sources, or provided by clearly biased, self-serving entities. For suggestions on reliable online sources, including government, academic and publisher sites, start with the ehow article at http://www.ehow.com/how_6326469_do-good-internet-research-wikipedia.html. But I would add the following advice (despite the imagined groans of digital-agers): Try also visiting a brick-and-mortar building called a "library" that is full of original source material and reference works. Instead of just sniffing digital footprints, consider interviewing a recognized expert in person!
No comments:
Post a Comment