Using the Internet to Research your Essays

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Finding Relevant Information
3. Using Internet Information
4. Further Information

Introduction

In the last decade, the use of the internet to research coursework in schools and universities has expanded dramatically. The internet is an enormously powerful tool - but there are also some significant issues with a lot of the material, and some potential problems with the way that it is used. You may well have used it a lot already, without being aware of falling into some bad habits or misconceptions that could cause you problems at university.

The aim of this quiz is to test your understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of research using the internet, and to give you some pointers on how you should use it.

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Using the Internet for research 1 What do you think are the main advantages of using internet resources? a) Easy to search for useful material b) Most up-to-date information c) Easy to find material directly relevant to coursework topic d) Clear and straightforward; books are often too long and complicated e) Easy to cut and paste material rather than having to write out notes Please select an answerIt's certainly true that it can take longer, and require more skill, to find relevant material in a library - but you also need to think about the quality of the material you find; there may be lots of stuff available on the internet, but it isn't always reliable, or sufficiently detailed for the sort of work that you'll be doing at university.Sometimes, sometimes not; there's lots of out-of-date information there as well, and you can't always tell which is which. It's obvious from the printed details at the beginning of a book if it's forty years old and so maybe not the most current source; the internet may not be forty years old, but a lot of its contents are copied from even older written sources (because they're now out of copyright).How can you be sure what's relevant? True, you can type the essay question into Google and find sites which include that phrase - but often the material you really need will be incorporated into discussions of broader topics. Doing some preliminary reading of books from the unit bibliography will always give you a better idea of what you need to know, so that you can organise your research more effectively.Most of the time, the experience of studying at university involves realising that things *are* more complicated than they seem, and that gaining a proper understanding of issues requires you to engage with long, complicated arguments. Unless the question really is very simple and basic - most of them won't be, even if they look like it - then the sort of answer you'll find on the internet will probably be much too superficial and simplistic.Very risky; unless you are absolutely scrupulous about referencing your sources every time you use such material, you are liable to find yourself being penalised for plagiarism.

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Using the Internet for Research 2 Lots of important information isn't available on the internet. a) True b) False Absolutely. Most, but not all, academic journals are now published electronically, but most books are not. Older material is less likely to be available - and plenty of older books and articles remain important, if not essential.Except for a few very specialised topics, you are going to need to consult the library. Most, but not all, academic journals are now published electronically, but most books are not. Older material is less likely to be available - and plenty of older books and articles remain important, if not essential.Your answer has been saved.

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Using the Internet for Research 3 You can generally trust material found on websites. a) True b) False Correct. You don't have to reject everything, but you need to be sceptical and critical about everything. Of course, the same holds true for books and articles. One difference is that, generally, academic work tries to keep the distinctions between fact, argument and opinion reasonably clear; this is always problematic, from a philosophical perspective (every 'fact' rests on a set of interpretations...), but it's a long way from the deliberate presentation of tendentious opinions as incontrovertible fact, as you often find on the internet.Do you believe everything you read? With *some* sites you can trust that they're unlikely to be deliberately lying to you, but you still need to be aware of all the ways that material can be presented in order to support a particular view. You don't have to reject everything, but you need to be sceptical and critical about everything.Your answer has been saved.