Search for Research… What’s real that is the question. As a newspaper reporter and educator, it’s important to find sources that are beyond question. With this said, it’s fun to find sources that are undoubtedly false or not viable. These sources can also be a valid and valuable learning tool for students.
In my experience, using both reliable or documented sources juxtaposed with false sources help students learn how to recognize unreliable information while comparing it with better reliable sources.
I look for reliable sources by digging into the material presented and looking for documentation at a Web site. I also look for other sources to verify materials found at a variety of sites. This would be a web-based literature review of sorts. When I am doing news research I look to traditional resources such as government sites, news sites and other trusted sources such as known experts in the field of whatever I am researching.
I like to use search words and tags in an experimental fashion. I like to try different words and see what comes up. I have found that librarians are the best sources for help when I get stuck on a topic and can not find relevant hits in my research. As a photographer, I have used tags related to my photos. For example, I shot a lighthouse in
As a graduate student, I like to use the databases from the University. These are generally very reliable and offer millions of pieces of information that are academic sources. I think all students should understand how to use information for personal use and academic use.
As for RSS feeds, I am overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of feeds available at the moment. I think RSS feeds should be carefully selected and not just chosen at random. I would suggest to students that they examine some sites recommended by their instructors or even their friends and check them out prior to subscribing to a feed. Information is wonderful, but unless it is selected, it won’t be used. I am going to use RSS feeds to do research on a paper topic with some classmates related to the environment and media framing. I haven’t selected them yet, but I will use diigo.com and delicious.com to help share this information with classmates.
I think using a variety of sources such as blogs, vlogs, podcasts and online magazines as well as traditional sources is a good idea for any active learner. It seems the trend is toward all electronic or digital media for many papers. I know I have used many online digital resources that can also be found in hard (paper) form.
Again, I’ll reiterate that students should experience both good resources and poor resources, so they can tell the difference. In this manner, I would say practice or hands-on learning is key.
I also find that librarians continue to be valuable resources--not just for information but how to find information. That said, in my experience, most librarians I have worked with are credible, up-to-date, and incredibly helpful; a very small minority are as far behind the technology and web 2.0 revolution as we are! Again, the latter is the exception (though I have experienced a librarian asking me--a random patron--for help understanding how to use a usb flash drive!), as the librarians I know embrace new ways of learning.
ReplyDeleteI think an online mass comm course would be a multimedia dream! Imagine having audio and video for speech examples (good and bad). Here is a blog I have been following for a long time that tracks speakers (complete with video) overusing the dreaded "um": http://www.ummlike.blogspot.com/
Great idea to juxtapose good resources with poor. This "credibility literacy" is perhaps the single most important--and single biggest deficiency--for student "research literacy." --Jon