Internet: Friend or Foe to Research?
Wes Hawk, MBA2
Issue date: 11/12/01 Section: News
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When it comes to research the internet is a powerful tool, but it should be just that, one tool. On my way to an interview in Jackson Library I noticed something I hadn’t used for years--research books. As I reached out to see if they were real I noticed about 5 inches of dust on them, apparently nobody else uses these books. My first thought, having an economics background, was that this was a simple supply/demand problem. Demand for these kinds of books had gone to nil because the internet, with its wealth of information, has rendered them useless. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Time and time again when people need to research a project they start with the internet. The problem is, they often stop there, too. The internet has good information but there are two main problems with it; it is incomplete and imprecise.
First, it is has incomplete information. If you plan to research any topic that is more than 5 years old you will most likely not find too much data. If you plan to search for something earlier than 1989, good luck. In fact, even at Stanford you can search for dissertations online, but only those after 1989. And for all the information the internet seems to hold, it is only a mere fraction of what is held at the Library of Congress.
Not only is the internet lacking in information it is a very imprecise tool. Most people search for an item using a search engine like Yahoo or Google, or even worse they only use an AOL keyword. Whatever these engines pick up is the only information that people look at. This information, as we all know, can be biased based on who is paying the bills at these search engines.
We MBA students are old and set in our ways so it may be too late for us, but the real crime is occurring in the younger generation. I have spoken with several elementary, junior-high, and high-school teachers with 40-plus years experience and the story is the same. These teachers have all seen a pattern with the research their students have produced over the years. The good trend is that the reports are looking much more pleasing with color laser printers in almost every home. The bad trend is that the depth of the research has significantly decreased. Now, the vast majority of citations are from web pages and the quality of research is just not there. In fact one 6th grade teacher commented that for one recent research project every single student in his class solely used the internet to find information.
In the end, the internet is much more convenient than looking up information in books and doing thorough and comprehensive research. So what should be done? Two options. First, forget about world history, and any research done before 1990 and just hope you will not need any of that information. Or, use the internet as one tool in your research efforts and not stop with what the search engines returns. In short, don’t forget about all of the other resources out there that can provide valuable i
Time and time again when people need to research a project they start with the internet. The problem is, they often stop there, too. The internet has good information but there are two main problems with it; it is incomplete and imprecise.
First, it is has incomplete information. If you plan to research any topic that is more than 5 years old you will most likely not find too much data. If you plan to search for something earlier than 1989, good luck. In fact, even at Stanford you can search for dissertations online, but only those after 1989. And for all the information the internet seems to hold, it is only a mere fraction of what is held at the Library of Congress.
Not only is the internet lacking in information it is a very imprecise tool. Most people search for an item using a search engine like Yahoo or Google, or even worse they only use an AOL keyword. Whatever these engines pick up is the only information that people look at. This information, as we all know, can be biased based on who is paying the bills at these search engines.
We MBA students are old and set in our ways so it may be too late for us, but the real crime is occurring in the younger generation. I have spoken with several elementary, junior-high, and high-school teachers with 40-plus years experience and the story is the same. These teachers have all seen a pattern with the research their students have produced over the years. The good trend is that the reports are looking much more pleasing with color laser printers in almost every home. The bad trend is that the depth of the research has significantly decreased. Now, the vast majority of citations are from web pages and the quality of research is just not there. In fact one 6th grade teacher commented that for one recent research project every single student in his class solely used the internet to find information.
In the end, the internet is much more convenient than looking up information in books and doing thorough and comprehensive research. So what should be done? Two options. First, forget about world history, and any research done before 1990 and just hope you will not need any of that information. Or, use the internet as one tool in your research efforts and not stop with what the search engines returns. In short, don’t forget about all of the other resources out there that can provide valuable i