Students often ask if a source found on the World Wide Web is credible and many times are unsure if they should be used in papers and are often under the incorrect assumption that their entire paper can be based on info from these types of sources only. Essentially, there are two reasons why you should ALWAYS be suspicious of sources and ALWAYS use a variety of source types (journal and magazine articles, newpaper articles, & books): First, not everything that you will need for your papers will be found on the internet. Second, not everything that can be found on the Internet is accurate and true. Many websites are created with specific agendas and might perhaps be biased in some way. Often there is no way to verify the currency of the data (when published), and, in addition, often websites do not clearly indicate the creator of the content (nor their credentials, if any). Visit some of the websites below and you will quickly see that Internet websites are not always reliable:Would you like to genetically design your child? You can at this website. A very realistic site-only the topic would make you question it. If you click on "credits" you find that the creator is an artist named Virgil Wong. This site is actually a part of a larger, equally well designed site, www.rythospital.com. On this site you can learn about male pregnancy and a mouse that has been implanted with human brain cells.
Did you know that ther are whales in Lake Michigan? An article in Michigan Studies Weekly, a newspaper for elementary school classes in Michigan, focused on the fresh water whales found in lake Michigan. After a barrage of phone calls and emails to the publisher (a Utah publishing company, Studies Weekly, Inc.) it was determined that the article was incorrect. Turns out a writer at the company found the above website and used it as her only source.
Do you realize the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide? Should it be banned? This site will give you details you need to make an informed decision. It contains many of the elements which make a reliable website, but it's a spoof. Dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for WATER!
Did you know that blondes will become extinct in about 200 years? That's according to a study done by the World Health Organization. Yes, this is a real story, on the real BBC website, and was also reported in several British newspapers. It was even picked up by papers in the U.S. as well as Good Morning America. When people began to question it, the source could not be determined. WHO stated their organization never conducted such a study. The British media claimed to have picked it up from a European news wire, but its exact source could never be traced. While the website is real, it illustrates why journals are more reliable sources than newspapers or magazines (They are peer reviewed).
What do the terms "peer reviewed" and "refereed" mean?
Peer reviewed or refereed journals have a more involved review process than do ordinary journals. For example, the American Medical Association is a peer reviewed journal. If I were a doctor and wrote an article for this publication, the editors would send my article to other doctors around the country for their review before deciding whether or not to publish it. This adds another layer of reliablity to the information.
While the Internet, at times, may be a good source of information, research papers require much more scholarly data, such as research studies, etc. like those found in peer reviewed and academic journals. So vary the types of sources you use in your paper. Your university library subsribes to hundreds of databases that provide much more scholarly information than you'll ever find by using an Internet search engine.
