Summary: As the title of this article suggests, this article discusses doing research online. The internet makes information so convenient for almost everyone. However, we have to be able to understand this information and be selective with the information with the information we choose to analyze. The article brings up Wikipedia, a very well known database, and how it is untrustworthy because of the opportunity for anyone to change any of the information. Most trustworthy websites will end in .org, .edu or .gov. Although these are usually trustworthy it is better to look for websites with a strong editorial policy. This is basically anything that are not blogs or comments fro random people. The second half of "Fieldwriting" focuses more on oral research rather than written or published research. Although field-working focuses on taking spoken information you still need to reference published and unpublished library and internet sources. When you use written documentation to support your field work, you should refer to a complete handbook or manual. Doing this will help you avoid plagiarism. Documenting all sources, informant or text (published or unpublished), is called intertextual citation. Not only is field-working documenting information face to face with other people, it can also be used through technology. You can do this by using blogs, message boards and social networking sites. However, you must analyze this information thoroughly and determine whether if it is anything of value.
Quote #1: "Like the research you do at your actual field-site, online research requires patience, attention to detail, selectivity and analysis" (Pg 39).
A lot of information that is being put on the information is untrustworthy. It is very easy for anyone to access a website and change some of the original information. That it is why it is extremely important to analyze the information before you use it anywhere. It is also a good idea to cross reference the information you find on a specific website with other similar websites.
Quote #2: "Many of the best sources of information you can find on the web are electronic versions of sources you could also find in a library, like peer-reviewed articles in a academic journals" (Pg 40).
I think most people forget about this. Most reliable information found on the internet are just typed up information found in the library or a libraries databases. However, because the internet is so convenient people tend to ignore the library because of the extra effort needed to be put in to find that information.
Quote #3: "As all researchers writers know, the basic role of documentation is to attribute ideas that are not your own to their original source" (Pg 140).
This is very important when writing a research paper. You must always give credit to the original source when you are presenting information in your argument. This will avoid plagiarism. Not only that, but it will also make your argument more credible. If you can show the readers that the information your presenting is coming from others authors, the readers are more likely to believe your argument.
Questions:
1. Is there ever a good time to use Wikipedia?
2. Are you still allowed to use websites that in .com?
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