Research on the Internet is like 52 card pick-up
Search Engines are the vacuum cleaner after a game of 52 card pick-up
What Does a Researcher Do?
Determining Quality in Research
Good Research Implies understanding the Difference Between
Quality and Quantity
Traditional research focused on quality, which implies an awareness
of:
- AUTHORITY
author(s), editor, contributors, association,
qualified, experienced, or educated
publisher's reputation, copy editor's knowledge, typesetter's accuracy
publications history includes revisions or previous work or new
work
reviewing sources: appear in journals written by whom?
- SCOPE
purpose of the source
coverage includes subject matter, period covered, is material
up-to-date
- TREATMENT
Objectivity
Style - writing level - popular, scholarly, technical, semi-technical
Accuracy: names, places, dates, illustrations source identified
Readability
- ARRANGEMENT
sequence: chronological, geographical, alphabetic,
classified, tabular,
Indexed and/or cross references
- FORMAT
physical make up - binding, paper, type layout
illustrations: quality, related to text, placement within
text
features: maps, charts, graphs, bibliographies, etc.
Heirarchy of Sources
Primary Sources are considered the best sources for a description
check out the The Primary
Sources Network.
- for a Repositories
of Primary Sources
Includes sites that describe collections of rare books, manuscripts,
archives, historical photographs, oral histories, or other primary
sources.
Focuses on actual repositories; virtual collections are excluded.
On the Web no one checks for quality
Search Engines Do the Indexing and focus is on quantity
Many of the Homepages are created by individuals, not associations
or scholars
Remember the Homepage you're citing as a souce could
be
a high school student's term paper
Still want to proceed with your internet research?
See Jack Wolcott's collection of search engines in Searching
the Web
Search Engines are the vacuum cleaner after a game of 52 card pick-up
What Does a Researcher Do?
Determining Quality in Research
Good Research Implies understanding the Difference Between
Quality and Quantity
Traditional research focused on quality, which implies an awareness of:
author(s), editor, contributors, association, qualified, experienced, or educated
publisher's reputation, copy editor's knowledge, typesetter's accuracy
publications history includes revisions or previous work or new work
reviewing sources: appear in journals written by whom?
purpose of the source
coverage includes subject matter, period covered, is material up-to-date
Objectivity
Style - writing level - popular, scholarly, technical, semi-technical
Accuracy: names, places, dates, illustrations source identified
Readability
sequence: chronological, geographical, alphabetic, classified, tabular,
Indexed and/or cross references
physical make up - binding, paper, type layout
illustrations: quality, related to text, placement within text
features: maps, charts, graphs, bibliographies, etc.
Heirarchy of Sources
-
Primary Sources are considered the best sources for a description
check out the The Primary
Sources Network.
- for a Repositories
of Primary Sources
Includes sites that describe collections of rare books, manuscripts, archives, historical photographs, oral histories, or other primary sources.
Focuses on actual repositories; virtual collections are excluded.
On the Web no one checks for quality
Many of the Homepages are created by individuals, not associations or scholars
Search Engines Do the Indexing and focus is on quantity
Remember the Homepage you're citing as a souce could be
a high school student's term paperStill want to proceed with your internet research?
See Jack Wolcott's collection of search engines in Searching the Web
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