E-tivity 8: Reflections on e-sources

I already wrote a thesis on my 3^rd University year and one of the problems I came up with was how to search for good resources to read and then cite them in my work. The professor who followed me during those months, used to suggest me books to read and authors to keep in consideration for my in-depth study. After his tips then, I went to different libraries of the University and looked for materials. It was the first time I was writing an academic thesis and I thought it was important to choose carefully the authors who were going to teach me something about the topic I was investigating, thus my bibliography. First times I went to the library I was completely new to how an academic research was to be done, and how to search for useful books. I started using the library database – this new tools ease research process, don't they? Think about writing a good thesis in the 50s…I guess you spent ages to find what you needed -. I used to tag some key words in the search box which then provided me with a list of works related to that topic or to an author’s. However when I went to libraries there wasn’t a considerable problem which is quite common on the web nowadays: doubtfulness about the trustworthiness of sources. Actually, an increase in the disposal of quick and huge information equals to a greater carefulness when choosing resources. In fact, when I surf the net I do consider:

1. The look. This point might seem quite superficial but when you open a page, the first thing that strikes your eye is the way it looks and if it is well organized and pleasantly coloured. In our society appearance is more important than contents and even if really sad we have to face it, be as honest as possible and admit that if something is visually more appealing we get more interested in it. At least, at first sight;) Moreover if a webpage is smart, well structured and neat we think that the person who wrote it is well intentioned because he/she spent much time to build it and potentially he/she cares that the web sites contents are as good and accurate as its visual style. Anyway, as said above, we have to be careful because some people use exactly this psychological trick to attract readers, even though the website or the e-source contents are insufficient or - worse - fake. To get aware of this by yourself, please have a look at this...
2. The author. Of course, if the author of the e-source is well known, we are quite sure the contents of the website are reliable and we can use and cite them in our work. On the other hand, when we look for the authorship within the e-document it can easily happen either not to find it, or not to know the author. Moreover everyone is allowed to publish texts and materials of any kind on the net, and due to the fact that www is a phenomena growing since ’90s, the attention to legal applications which in general would make internet more secure have increased only in the last years. Limit some people on how they should use Internet resources and force them to follow the law is not easy, since the most appealing and the most dangerous characteristic of the web is that one can enter it, interact with it and its tools under false name or anonimously. Nor the url or the IP become essential to know the e-publisher's identity. Keep control over what is published and spreaded is difficult. Authorship is one of the greatest problems on e-sources. The page of the San Diego State University tells us to look if there is any e-mail address of the author at the bottom of the page. If so, the e-source is likely to be trustworthy. Anyway, being realistic, to create an e-mail account with false credentials is easy, and if you tell the author that would be preferable him/her to leave its street address (as the San Diego State University suggests into brackets) he/she might prefer not to give it to the large internet audience. A tricky dog who bites its

1. The content. First, I skip through the text in search of words that may catch my attention. If I find them I stop and read more carefully. I think that a serious source is ALWAYS grammatically correct and written with a formal style. However, when we read forum messages or blogs, posts can be written with an informal style but that does not always mean their contents are fake. When I was writing my theses though, I took in consideration only the former type of texts. Actually, it depends on what we are investigating with our theses because if we are writing on e-language on forums we'll focus exactly on that. Generally I rely on pdf fortmats because they are copyrighted – that is, protected from any further change - and documents coming from universities, institutions and well-known online magazines.
2. The URL. I sometimes check it. More or less all the three web sites we were to read tell us that, when a reader wonders which website to choose among those retrieved he/she should notice and take into account the url because it suggests us approximatively where we are going. Does it end with .org, .com, .net, .it/.uk?... However I distrust from considering it so relevant: actually, I’m not very able to recognize reliable urls and I think we can be misleaded by it partially because even if the chunk of words of the url might let us think to a serious good thing it doesn't necessarely reflect website contents. Anyway, I think this skill can grow with time only after a large number of accesses.
3. Other readers’ comments. This does not happen but when I read a forum, or I'm interested in other people's rating on the document. For example, after an article I like to read comments (if any) because I want to see if what is written finds any discredit and which is people's reaction. The contents of the e-documents can be either contrasted or substained through superficial or thorough remarks by readers. In Youtube viewers (after a video) can both leave a comment and upload another video as a response; thus express themselves with their own way if they are pro or cont the contents of the former e-source. Gramatical revises and advice are possible as well. This is a fantastic aspect of internet which is always due to the fact that everyone can access e-sources. I consider most valuable those comments which use external links, quotations and references to substain the ideas told. At the end, however, we are alone in front of the screen to decide if we agree or not with the comments&responds previously expressed.

After I read the webpages Sarah suggested us, I'd like to list some tips I particularly found interesting and had not considered before. It can be a reminder for me and for you, my dear peers!

From the page of the University of Essex:

• Check if there is a "a reference list or bibliography of corroborative evidence". This way you both are sure that the author respected citing and you can look for some resources cited ;
• See when last update was made. If it happened some years ago, you should look for newer webpages in order to provide your thesis, paper or whatever, with last information and researches.
  

From Online Writing Lab:

• First of all "decide what kind of sources you need". Do you need 'normal' sources or e-s? Do you need an article, an essay, a book, a video, an audio file, a dictionary, a forum, a blog, an author's website,...?

From the page of San Diego State University:

• "What are the credentials and affiliation or sponsorship of any named individuals or organizations?". Get informed on author's career or previous works. Then feel free to decide whether you trust on this e-source or not.
• "Why was the information provided by the source published?[...] to inform, to persuade, to sell, to present a viewpoint, and to create or change an attitude or belief". Asking youself this means, to have a critical approach on what you read and grow less GUILLIABLE!

Photo above published by brilliantdandy.