Comments on: Beyond Wikipedia: 15,731,298 References You Can’t Do Without

By: Study Hacks » Blog Archive » Monday Master Class: You're Not Smarter Than a 5th Grader (When it Comes to Starting Your Paper Research)

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 20:18:48 +0000

[...] Can Use Wikipedia: I’ve written before about avoiding Wikipedia as a cited source. Here, however, is one place where it is really useful: [...]

By: Revista MBA » Blog Archive » Back to School: A Baker’s Dozen Research and Writing Resources for Students

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:12:18 +0000

[...] From the blog StudyHacks: Beyond Wikipedia: 15,731,298 References You Can’t Do Without [...]

By: Back to School: A Baker’s Dozen Research and Writing Resources for Students « Treading Softly

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:27:25 +0000

[...] From the blog StudyHacks: Beyond Wikipedia: 15,731,298 References You Can’t Do Without [...]

By: Juan

Juan — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:20:07 +0000

as a student who likes research and more importantly is unable to get access to the libraries as you call them, online research can prove to be quite a valuable tool. When vision is limited (in my instance) I would not be able to follow this warning that successfully simply because i cannot access or read any printed materials with ease. I would have to take more realistic aproaches: Hire a narrator (expenses increase)–or, scan the book page by page. Fortunately , there are many websites which host a vast majority of libraries online and some are helping you with research. You cannot indeed cite wikipedia as it is obvious it is a contribution based on often challenged validity into information. Another interest point however, is to be able to verify everything that is in one paper. I am really glad they don’t ask you for a birth certificate with your picture and your social security number attatched in order for you to be able to verify your name…. yet . Anyway, a number of growing services are available online and you could direct the people to these in case they cannnot read print (like myself). The library of congress has a national library service in which books are shipped a week after they are ordered in braille, recorded or sometimes electronically. Individuals have to prove their disability. Another such source is now being offered to different colleges, such as the RFBD (recording for the blind and dyslexic) which provides books on cd for someone’s listening preference. Although this is useful, it also represents delay in obtaining the materials. Another better source that is becoming increasingly popular is bookshare.org . It allows any user who is blind to access almost any kind of book online. The questia research library has good services, and more so for the published books they provide (prentice hall, Glencoe, ETC). This service is available at a flat fee for all. By using these services or reading sources from other articles and then looking for the sources in this manner, perhaps it is time we can allow such instance for citing sources and thus broaden oportunity.

By: bipolar2

bipolar2 — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 17:59:26 +0000

And the contents of the 15+ million books on Harvard’s shelves would fit on how little memory? Let’s get over the limitations imposed by printed paper, physical storage of books, and manual retrieval of information. Let Harvard put full text, searchable versions of its collection out there for all of us. As long as traditional academicians keep our noses pushed into ink-on-paper, they stand in the way of a tidal wave of good research which no longer requires paring down due to “space” restrictions. There’s no reason that every footnote shouldn’t have an on-line reference. How many DVDs would it take to replace Harvard’s libraries — not very many. Enough of the quill pen mentality. Ben Franklin would have got out of printing a long time ago had the Internet been around in his day.

By: Study Hacks » Blog Archive » Monday Master Class: How to Schedule Your Writing Like a Professional Writer

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 16:01:50 +0000

[...] Beyond Wikipedia: 15,731,298 Resources You Can’t Do Without [...]

By: 15 Million More References | Scholastici.us: Student Productivity At Its Finest

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:28:14 +0000

[...] Newport over at Study Hacks posted a follow up piece to my Beyond Wikipedia article. Beyond Wikipedia: 15,731,298 References You Can’t Do Without. This is what I love about the internet – the ongoing conversation, the refining response. Cal [...]

By: Study Hacks

Study Hacks — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:18:18 +0000

Thank you for the comment. It’s fantastic to have an actual professor chime in here.

I think we are actually on the same page. I tried to say more or less the same thing as you; e.g.,

There are, of course, obvious exceptions. Some contemporary primary sources, for example, exist only online.

But it’s clear from your comment that I should have been more direct about this. As you say, it’s a primary source versus a secondary source issue. Don’t use web sites as secondary sources.

I count — perhaps confusingly — online journal databases as part of the library (as they are often accessed through the library interface). So finding that right journal article, is within the scope of “using the library.” The worry I have, which it seems you share, is students actually citing wikipedia or random online profiles.

Thank you for your clarification. I think you put it better than me.

By: academicdave

academicdave — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:39:26 +0000

Sorry, as a college professor who usually finds what you write to be useful, I have to say you missed the mark on this one. Let's start with the idea that online sources should play basically no role in your paper. Not only is this idea wrong, but it misdirects the issue at hand. Of course given certain contexts one should cite online sources, for example when writing a paper about web content. The rule is: Site only primary sources. Primary sources can be web content or print content. Indeed in some cases there are now academic journals which exist only online and are worthy of being cited. One should not as a general rule cite wikipedia (unless your paper is on wikipedia) but this is not an online versus offline issue, but rather a secondary source vs. primary source issue. In the same regard one should not cite Britannica, but by your rule one could for it is in a library. I wrote an extended How to for research, which needs to be updated and focuses on English majors, but presents a more nuanced approach than this. Realize that libraries are no longer the harbinger or gatekeepers of knowledge, this doesn't mean that they are not useful, indeed they are but databases are far more useful. Knowing how to navigate a good database, plus World Cat will get you much further than focusing on one library where you could be misdirected towards one book. How to find the right database? This is where your professor and librarian can help you. (Probably the most important step.)