For the purposes of this assignment, I chose to look in to the topic of online dating. I think it would be a very interesting topic to actually write a paper on, so I wanted to see what kinds of information I could find. Because this is an academic paper, I needed to use credible sources. I found my sources through Google Scholar and the OSU Library. By using these two databases to find sources, I knew I would be able to find sources that were credible and had correct information. When writing academic papers, I feel that it is important to use sources that are credible, which usually include things such as journal articles, newspaper articles, or books. Because these sources are published and distributed, in print and/or online, the information presented should be accurate, although the information may be very one-sided if the author is trying to support an argument. For example, one of the journal articles I found is entitled “10 Things Your Online Dating Service Won’t Tell You”. This article reveals 10 “down-sides” to online dating that people aren’t usually aware of when they sign up for an online dating service. The article never mentions any of the things that online dating services do share with their clients. However, because this article is published in a reputable journal, Smart Money, the information is accurate because it has been screened by Journal editors.
Many people complete research by simply using a search engine, such as Google or Yahoo, and take information off of whatever web results are returned by the search. I think that it is good to do this kind of information search, because sometimes there is some very helpful information on certain web pages. However, when using this method of research, it is important to critically evaluate the information before citing it in a paper, because the internet is a very “open” resource, and anybody can create a web-page or post up information online, whether or not it is true. A really good example of this is Wikipedia. Many professors, when assigning a paper, outright say that Wikipedia will NOT be recognized as a credible source. However, Wikipedia results are usually the first ones returned when doing a Google search, so people are prone to click on the link and use that information. The reason that Wikipedia is not considered a valid source of information is that ANYONE is allowed to post information on that site. Some people do place accurate information on the site; however there are others who post opinions or false information. Sometimes, it is hard to determine what information is true and what isn’t, so this is why most professors don’t allow Wikipedia at all.
I can definitely appreciate why professors feel this way. They have to grade so many papers and check the sources to see if their students are using accurate information and not plagiarizing, and it is so much easier to eliminate the use of an inaccurate source, such as Wikipedia, then having to analyze and grade a paper that cites information from that website. If I were a professor, I would evaluate the student’s research skills by seeing what types of resources they used. If a student only uses web-sites that were obviously found using only a search engine, then I would say that the student doesn’t have very good research skills. I mean, most kids are doing search engine research by the time they hit 5th grade, and so there should be some distinction between the levels of research done by an elementary school student as opposed to that of a college student. I think the students with the best research skills would use not only an internet search engine, but would explore their school’s library catalog (such as the OSU online library catalog). This way, they would find information that was credible and also have access to many scholarly databases, such as Ebsco.
In this week’s reading, Postman contends that educational institutions have failed in their role of information control, but I don’t think this is entirely true. While it is the role of educational institutions to control information, I think the best way for them to do this is by teaching students how to critically evaluate information and be aware of the different types of information that they may find. I feel that both the high-school I graduated from and the college I currently attend, OSU, successfully control information in this sense, as I have never had any problems completing research papers and analyzing and using credible sources. But I know that not all educational institutions are successful in controlling information, as there are many people who don’t know how to successfully research. I think the greater lesson here is that people really need to be critical when using the internet for research, whether it is for academic or personal purposes. Because there is so much information out there, people really need to learn how to evaluate the credibility of sources that they may find.
Citations:
Jennifer L. Gibbs, Nicole B. Ellison, and Rebecca D. Heino “Self-Presentation in Online Personals: The Role of Anticipated Future Interaction, Self-Disclosure, and Perceived Success in Internet Dating.” Communication Research, Apr 2006; 33: 152 – 177.
Kephart. “10 Things Your Online Dating Service Won’t Tell You.” Smart Money 18 (2009): 96.
Southard. “”Shopping” for a Mate: Expected Versus Experienced Preferences in Online Mate choice.” Technical Communication 2008 (2008): 454.
I agree with you that some institutions are doing their part to control the information used, while others are not teaching their students how to find credible sources. A lot of students have not even been taught how to use a search engine or how to efficiently search for an article through databases like ebsco. It wasn’t until my junior year (at another university) that our teacher brought in a librarian to teach the whole class how to do proper research on the internet. There were students of all ages in my class (as with most college classes) and many of them had never heard any of the information before, and even found it a little hard to grasp. How long had they been spout off information from just any old source and thinking that it was face? A little disturbing.