Trust in the Internet With the internet being part of our everyday life information can be accessed from almost any corner of the world. Whether it’s used for playing games, communicating with friends, or even just streaming movies, the internet is intertwined with essentially everyone on the planet in some sort of fashion. With the abundance of articles and information that is easily attainable in today’s society problems occur when the information is incorrect or not justified. Wikipedia is taking the majority of the heat and is frequently called an unreliable source. Because of the easy read and quick basic overview, Wikipedia is a go to source for students as well as teachers and is a helpful tool to get minimal information. However Wikipedia should not be used as research tool on academic papers because of its lacking credentials. …show more content…
Wikipedia is an online website that provides information about almost every subject imaginable.
Wikipedia is community driven, so it allows anonymous authors to post information. This brings up the first flaw of Wikipedia. Since everyone is able to edit or post on the page the quality could be lacking. Timothy Messer-Kruse, an avid historian who experienced conflictions with Wikipedia firsthand. Messer-Kruse was intrigued by the Haymarket Riots and led extensive research on the topic and eventually becoming a published author on the subject. One day he was attempting to edit the article about the Haymarket Riot but was unable to because of Wikipedia’s policies. The policy that held Messer-Kruse back was the Undue Weight policy. Messer-Kruse states, “Undue Weight doesn’t give minority view as much credit compared to popular opinions.” Despite having factual evidence Messer-Kruse still has a minority opinion in the eyes of Wikipedia. Wikipedia’s flaw is that anyone can post to it as long as it is in the popular opinion anyone can post. Messer-Kruse is just one example of how Wikipedia can have its
negatives. John Seigenthaler, a former assistant to Robert Kennedy, wrongfully accused of his alleged help of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on his Wikipedia biography for a period of more than 100 days without his knowledge. Seigenthaler acted immediately and contacted Wikipedia to have the article taken and find out who posted the material. Wikipedia willing complied but was unable to find the anonyms’ author due users internet provider. This is just one example of slandering on Wikipedia without any factual evidence. Wikipedia is not a terrible website and is actually an useful tool, if you know how to use it. Mark E. Moran, CEO of Finding Dulcinea, an educational website, says “While some articles are of the highest quality of scholarship, others are admittedly complete rubbish. … use [Wikipedia] with an informed understanding of what it is and what it isn't.” Wikipedia does require authors to cite their sources and you can go to those cites for further information. If done properly Wikipedia can be used to jump start research papers. Moran also states in another article “The debate surrounding Wikipedia also makes the site a good jumping off point for lessons.” Moran means that Wikipedia can be used as a tool to help you began your research. Personally I use Wikipedia to help me get an understanding of my topic and elaborate my research to more trustworthy sources that I actually cite. I have had an issue with Wikipedia during a project. The article I was reading lacked information about my home town, so I had to dig a little deeper to find the facts. With the internet filled with millions of articles, finding another article that is more reliable than Wikipedia is not challenging and combined with several sources makes your paper more creditable. Because of the policies and easy access for random people to edit, makes Wikipedia a non reliable source to use on academic papers.
Sean Kamperman the author of “The Wikipedia Game: Boring, Pointless, or Neither” believes that wikipedia can be helpful with educational learning purposes. Wikipedia is known for plagiarism and fake information. People make Wikipedia have a bad reputation in schools especially in english classes. Wikipedia can be a source of entertainment and self improvement for some people. Some people might just research stuff on Wikipedia to find interesting articles. In “Wikihunt” many Wikipedia users have “discovered” a game of their own, this involves creativity so it brings out the creative qualities of people. Wikipedia is a educational game and it's also free it's convenient for people. The game “Wikihunt” involves two people in separate computers
The Wikipedia Collective. (2010, February 22). Mark Morris. Retrieved February 28, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Morris
Granted, in the present day world, information is easily available to anyone who wants it. Smart phones and computers are able to search through infinite sources to find what they are programed to do. Information is available at people’s fingertips to know the latest news in the world. Although information can be retrieved quickly and plentifully by technology, this information is not always accurate. Technology is unable to be programmed to find truthful sources, or find facts that have any truth at all. Technology looks for any and all information that is
Like Gladwell, Nicholas Carr believes the internet has negative effects. In his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid”, Carr attempts to show as the internet becomes our primary source of information, it diminishes the ability to read books and extensive research. Carr goes on to give a very well researched account of how text on the internet is designed make browsing fast and profitable. He describes how the design for skimming affects our thinking skills and attention spans. He wraps up his argument by describing what we are losing in the shift toward using the internet as our main information source. Carr suggests the learning process that occurs in extensive research and through reading is lost. While the learning process can be beneficial to scholars and intellectuals, not everyone has the capability to follow through with it. The internet offers an education that anyone can have access to and understand. Also if Carr believes the learning process is better, this option is always available for people who want to learn according to this scholarly principal. However, for the rest of the population the quick and easy access has allowed the average population to become more educated, and to expose themselves to aspects of academia that previously is reserved for
As Wikipedia has become more and more popular with students, some professors have become increasingly concerned about the online, reader-produced encyclopedia. While plenty of professors have complained about the lack of accuracy or completeness of entries, and some have discouraged or tried to bar students from using it.
Academic integrity has been put in place to protect the ideas of which those belong to. A code between students and faculty has been created to support this policy. When developing a research paper there are a certain number of sources required to support or create an argument in regards to the subject of an assignment. These sources can include many types of media such as articles or documents found on the internet, magazines, books, interviews, or video evidence. A student can chose to exhaust any or all the before mentioned sources; however, they must paraphrase or correctly cite the source to keep in place the standard of originality. “The advance in technology has created additional resources wher...
...ause it could give children wrong stereotypical information, which could lead to development of a wrong idea about their culture and society later in their adulthood. These effects could be reduced by making strict laws that prevents hateful articles from publication, or at least a law that requires editors of blogs and magazine to carefully approve only accurate and appropriate information for the general public.
Nicholas Carrs article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” makes points that I agree with, although I find his sources to be questionable. The article discusses the effects that the Internet may be having on our ability to focus, the difference in knowledge that we now have, and our reliance on the Internet. The points that are made throughout Carrs article are very thought provoking but his sources make them seem invaluable.
Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
In the first paragraph, Jaron appeals to the pathos of the reader; he assumes that the reader is of the generation that has grown up in the digital age, thus they would agree that the most important aspect of the internet is the people who contribute to it. However, there is no reason to ever assume that. Some people may actually believe that user contribution detracts from what makes the internet a viable source of information. For example, if the internet were controlled by academia, it would most likely be a peer reviewed source of information. However, as it is, anyone can contribute information to the internet, which makes the internet not a reliable source for knowledge. We can see this in academia, which typically does not support the use of Wikipedia as an academic source, and Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that relies entirely on user contribution.
We as a people of the United States are guaranteed the right of free speech under the first amendment of the bill of rights. The first amendment has always been a difficult but necessary part of American life. It allows us to say what needs to be said without the fear of prosecution. Without this law we would be unable to question our leaders and society. The ability to speak our minds is what keeps us a truly free nation. However, this means we have always had to put up with other peoples opinions no matter how false they may be. The internet follows the same pattern. We have learned not to trust everything that is written down. It is our responsibility to refute anything that is incorrect or inappropriate just as it is our responsibility to do so in real life situations. For example, we could no more shut up a person who believes in white supremacy by arresting them for their beliefs then we could block them from the free space of the internet. We can not punish someone for their beliefs even if those beliefs go against everything we know to be true.
The objective of this essay is to compare Internet research with other sources of information which include books, word of mouth and primary research. This paper will also look at ways of ascertaining the validity of research information for academic work.
Yes, many can argue that there are plenty of websites out there that offer so much information; however, is that information always credible? The answer to that is no. Newspapers have to be credible, because they go through editing and review before they are published. Almost anyone now can go online and post something for you to read and think they know what they are talking about. It is not good to fall in this trap.
Mainstream media such as television, radio, newspapers were the primary source of reliable information before the epoch of the internet. However, the situation has changed. The evolution of modern technology in the world today has led to the continuous increase in the methods of practicing journalism. Social and technological advancements have not only improved the pace and content of this field’s practice, but has extended its genre to online or cybernetic journalism. (Project for Excellence in Journalism, 2007). News websites most of which are owned by major media companies and alternative websites with user generated content such as social networking sites and blogs are gaining grounds in the journalism field of practice. (Nel, n.d). One of the chief forces affecting the practice of journalism nowadays is online citizen journalists. Nel (n.d) defines citizen journalism as “individuals playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analysing and disseminating news and information”. He further adds that “citizen journalism is slowly being looked upon as a form of rightful democratic ways of giving hones news, articles, etc, directly by citizens of the world from anywhere.” One of the major researches conducted in the field of citizen journalism, describes the phenomenon as “individuals who intend to publish information online, meant to benefit a community”, and this information is expected to benefit the audience or the wider population in making decisions for the improvement of their community. (Carpenter, 2010.)
The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...