"The whole problem with news on television comes down to this: all the words uttered in an hour of news coverage could be printed on a page of a newspaper. And the world cannot be understood in one page."
― Neil Postman, Conscientious Objections: Stirring Up Trouble About Language, Technology and Education
Wikipedia, YouTube, and other internet 'sources'.
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Jun 23, 2020
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As an avid proponent of Wikipedia, I also acknowledge that one needs to approach any research tool with the awareness that there is no such thing as 'perfection'. Wikipedia itself understands this, and its ability to take criticism and engage in 'self-examination' is one of its strengths. Here are several links to demonstrate the seriousness with which it takes this duty.
What is Wikipedia? Their own definition: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia
Criticism of Wikipedia: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Criticisms
Replies to common objections: - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Replies_to_common_objections
I always caution students to double check their research and try to use multiple resources whenever possible. Also, always be open to 'new' information and 'revision' of your ideas.
"The 2014 edition of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's official student handbook, Academic Integrity at MIT, [states] "the bibliography published at the end of the Wikipedia entry may point you to potential sources. However, do not assume that these sources are reliable—use the same criteria to judge them as you would any other source. Do not consider the Wikipedia bibliography as a replacement for your own research." [emphasis mine]
- Wikipedia (8/1/17)
Although YouTube offers thousands of videos of an informational or educational nature, it is often plagued by the problems of 'mixed quality' and poor 'indexing' or 'difficulty in searching'. For this reason many people avoid using it for serious research. In addition, along with the 'good stuff' there is a ton of 'crap', and it is also easy to get side-tracked by entertaining, but irrelevant, videos of an off-topic nature. Using YouTube for educational purposes requires a high degree of discipline and the ability to 'stay on topic'! Adds may be annoying as well but must be put up with for 'free' access.